Crossed Timelines
by Abandoned Works
Summary: Lily is taken into a new world, full of aliens, planets, and loss. Her worst day slowly becomes her best, and her world is turned upside down as she realizes just who she is, and who this man called 'the Doctor' is to her. How is she supposed to keep up with the man who never stays, and always changes? STORY HAS BEEN ADOPTED. DETAILS TO COME.
1. Meeting the Mad Man

**Hello! This work is abandoned. However, it is up for adoption, so if by the end of this you are inspired, feel free to check out my profile and PM me, and we can work something out :)**

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Competition was in a month.

The choir had been singing these songs for what seemed like ages, and we could already feel the pressure of the upcoming events.

"No, altos, you're sharp!" Mr. Jackson scolded us, in his slight southern drawl. "Sopranos, a little less vibrato. Bass' you came in early on measure fifteen. Tenors, you're too quiet – and you need to carry that whole note across from ten to eleven."

Whoever you were in this school, you knew to respect Mr. Jackson, no matter what he said or did, because he always knew what he was talking about. He was strict, but got the job done. And this is why my high school, the Jefferson Tigers, always went to major competitions all over the country, and always came back with gold. I was a senior, and was determined to make this year our best year yet.

Yes, we always did well, but this had to be our best.

A red-headed freshman in front of me, Ava, started to goof off while Mr. Jackson was working with the tenors, so I tugged her hair, and pretended to mark my music as she stared daggers at the entire back row.

"Okay!" Mr. Jackson suddenly shouted, taking his place. "From the repeat!" He started to count, but as we opened our mouths to sing, the classroom door opened, and a man dressed in a Roman warrior costume, and quite a large nose, fell in.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized, and studied all of us on the risers. "Doctor, did you get the right time?" he asked, and another man shuffled in.

He had light brown hair that hung in his face, and had wide, green eyes that seemed to be scared. He had a brown tweed jacket on, dark pants, and dress shoes. He fiddled with his red bowtie before answering. "No, no, she's here. She has to be here."

His eyes landed on me and he grinned, rushed over, and pushed Ava out of the way before picking me up, and spinning me around.

"Oh thank God," the Roman sighed, and pulled out his sword. "Sorry for barging in like this." He turned to our choir director, and everyone was in complete shock.

The strange, green eyed man still had me in his embrace, and I stared at him with wide eyes.

"I would ask when the last time you saw me was, and where we are, but I really don't care," he stated, his British accent coming out thick, much like the Romans. And then, before I could stop him, he placed me on the ground, cupped my face, and kissed me. It wasn't a peck, either. It was a full on, passionate kiss.

I was too shocked to react, but the man didn't seem to notice. He slowly pulled away, and rested his forehead against mine, his eyes closed. His hands slid down my shoulders, and gently took my hands.

"Right!" he suddenly exclaimed, jumping away, and starting to run out the door.

The Roman rolled his eyes, and started to follow the strange man, but then stopped, and turned to face me. "Well, come on Lily," he called, fixing his helmet. "Amy's in trouble and we have to leave."

"What's the hold up?" the crazy man asked, stepping back into the room.

The Roman shrugged, and tugged my arm. "Come on, Lily," he urged again. "Did you not hear me? Amy is in trouble, we don't have any time to-"

"Who are you?" I finally asked, my slight British accent making me sound angry, even though I wasn't. It was a mystery as to where my accent came from, since I was adopted from an orphanage in the city when I was a little girl. I had never left the states, and it always made people think I was a foreign exchange student.

The two men shared glances, and the one that kissed me looked terrified. "Lily, please," he begged, and walked over to me, taking my hands again. "Please, you have to know me. It's me, the Doctor. Please, Lily." He lifted my left hand, inspecting it. "It's gone," he then stated and kissed my hand. "You don't have your ring on."

"What ring?" I asked. "I don't wear rings."

"No," he said sadly, his eyes closed once more. "No, apparently not. Not yet, anyway."

"Doctor, what does she mean?" the Roman asked. "What does she mean she doesn't know us? We just saw her the other day."

"Our timelines are crossed, as you know, Rory," The Doctor explained, not letting go if me, even though I was struggling to be set free. "With River and I, the timelines are reversed, but with Lily... It's a complete mess. We've met her, but she hasn't met us yet. Yesterday to us could be in a year to her."

"Well, why don't we just go find a future version of her?" Rory asked, walking over, and giving me an odd look.

"We can't," The Doctor said solemnly. "She told me about this day, long ago. It's a fixed point."

"What are you two talking about?" I asked, slightly scared. "And how did you get in here? How do you know me? The office doesn't let random people in, especially people with…swords."

"We didn't come through the doors," the Doctor smirked, and kissed my forehead, before turning to Mr. Jackson. "Right! Steve, you don't know me yet, but that's okay! She'll be back in five minutes. Maybe."

He and Rory the Roman each took a hold if my arms, and lifted me.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Put me down! I demand to be put down right now, or so help me, I'll-"

"Oh, hush, will you?" the Doctor sighed, as they dragged me out if the choir room.

Everyone was still in shock, and from what I could tell, only my best friend, Alexia, had come to her senses, and was rushing over to Mr. Jackson's phone on his desk.

I started kicking and struggling more.

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted, after I had kicked his knee. "That hurt!"

We walked – well I was dragged, and they walked – down the hall, until we came to one of the practice rooms that the choir and band shared. They set me down, and Rory gripped my arm, while The Doctor opened the door.

I was expecting to see the old piano that was terribly out of tune, like always, but was shocked when I saw a huge, blue box.

I stopped struggling to stare at it. "Whoa," I gasped. "How did you get _that_ in here?"

The Doctor grinned, and pulled out a key. "I've always wanted to see your reaction. You always seemed so calm before."

"Wait, what are you doing?" I asked, as he opened the door. "There's no way I'm getting in that box with two strange men. Especially one with a sword."

They ignored me, and once the door was open, they pulled me inside. The Doctor locked the door behind us, but I hardly noticed.

"How…how is this possible?" I asked, gazing around the large room. "We stepped into a box. How is this here? This shouldn't be _possible_."

"Ah!" someone exclaimed behind me. "Lily, I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up."

I turned, only to be faced with a green lady. With a scream, I stumbled back, and ended up tripping on a step. I fell on my butt, and the green lady gave me a strange look.

"Lily," a girl beside the green lady called, "are you alright?" This girl was normal looking, with brown hair, and a pretty face. Like everyone else, it seemed, she had a British accent.

"She- she's green!" I screamed, and crawled back. "And scale-y!"

"Lily, are you alright?" the green woman asked, and I felt someone hoist me up.

I turned, and faced the Doctor. "What's going on?" I asked, staring around the big room. A set of stairs led up to who knows where and there was a big contraption surrounding a big cylinder.

"Lily, this is hard to explain," The Doctor started, flipping a switch. "I'm a time traveler, and I've met you before, in your future, my past."

"Time Traveler?" I repeated, looking around. "With green monsters in your bigger on the inside time machine?"

"I'm not a monster!" the green lady protested. "I'm a native to this world!"

I put my fingers to my temples, feeling a headache.

Someone put their hands on my shoulders, and I looked up to see the Roman. "It's a lot to take in, I know," he told me. "I went through the same thing, and you'll be there to see it. But it'll all work out, won't it, Doctor?"

We both glanced up at the strange man, who had his back turned to us. "Of course it will," he finally said, turning to us with a smile. "It always does, in the end." He clapped his hands and took my arm, dragging me to the staircase. "Now, we're going into battle! And as much as I like your skirt, I don't think it will be very helpful."

I glanced down at my clothes, and saw that I was wearing a short black and white horizontally striped skirt, and a white blouse, with a red leather jacket. My shoes were red heels, and since it was already the last period of the day, my feet were starting to hurt. "Battle?" I asked, realizing what he said. "What do you mean, _battle_?"

He avoided eye contact, instead turning to the green lady and her friend. "Madame Vastra, Jenny, could you please?"

"Could they please what?" I asked, taking a step back. "I'm not going anywhere; you're taking me straight back to my classroom, got it? Right now."

"Doctor?" Rory asked, staring at me. "If she hasn't met us yet, that means she doesn't have a gun, right?"

"Correct," The Doctor confirmed, pressing buttons, and motioning to the two women.

"Well, let's give her one!" a new voice ordered, and I turned to see a giant potato in a futuristic suit. A giant blue man was next to him.

"We're over whelming her," the green lady, Madame Vastra, said softly, and calmly walked over to me. "Come, Lily, and we'll get you proper clothes for the oncoming task."

"A-aliens," I finally muttered. "That's what you are. Like all those things that's been happening in England. Oh my gosh. I'm being abducted by aliens."

"Rightio!" The Doctor grinned madly, and my jaw dropped. "But we're good aliens," The Doctor continued. "Well, we're almost doubting Strax over there, but we need all the help we can get, so we'll just pretend he's nice."

I glanced at the potato man, Strax, and felt like I was going to faint. I must've looked it, too, because the Roman was suddenly standing in front of me, feeling my forehead.

"Lily, are you alright?" he asked, and I felt like I was going to cry, simply out of frustration.

"Do I look alright? I'm being abducted by aliens who seem to know an awful lot about me, and I have absolutely no clue what's going on!" I screamed, and I felt my face get red. A strand of my curly brown hair got into my eyes, but I didn't bother moving it. "So, someone, tell me what the _hell_ is going on."

Everyone turned to the bowtie wearing doctor, who just had a sad look on his face. I assumed he was in charge, so I set me steely gaze on him.

"I now understand what you went through, when this was reversed," he said sadly, and walked over to me, but I stepped back. His eyebrows furrowed, but he kept eye contact. "I told you, I'm a time traveler. I've known you for years, but you won't know until the future. You travel with me sometimes, but only one or two trips at a time. You helped – well, will help – save the universe several times. I know this makes no sense, but I promise you, it's all true."

This was too much like a movie. A normal, high school girl gets picked up by a strange man, and he fills her head with stories.

"He can prove it," Rory spoke up, and I turned swiftly, to see him standing by the door. "Come over here, and I'll prove that we're traveling through time and space, right now."

I hesitated, before slowly trudging over, until I was standing next to him.

In one swift movement, he yanked the door open, and I gasped. In front of me were a million stars, and several blotches of color, which I assumed were galaxies. In the distance, I saw something that looked like Jupiter. Overall, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life.

"Did someone drug me?" I asked, looking back at the strange people who brought me here.

The Doctor chuckled, and shook his head. "Nice to know you're the same all the way through," he commented.

"Alright," I whispered. "I'm in a spaceship, with a bunch of aliens."

"Well, not all of us are aliens," Rory pointed out. "Jenny and I are human."

The Doctor smiled. "Please, Lily. Just trust me."

I glanced around at everyone, and finally nodded. "Okay. But only because I think I'm dreaming." I grinned slightly at the thought.

Madame Vastra smiled back, and she and Jenny walked over, taking my hands.

"I trust you know where the wardrobe is?" The Doctor asked me, going back to pressing buttons, and flipping switches. The floor started to tremble slightly, and I heard a groaning metal sound.

"How am I supposed to know?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, and ignoring the sound.

 _I'll lead you_ , a voice in my head whispered.

I gasped at the sudden sound, and clutched my hands to my head.

"Are you alright?" Jenny asked me.

"It's the TARDIS speaking to her," The Doctor explained. "Ever since I met her, she's been able to communicate with her. I never understood why."

"The TARDIS?" I asked, looking at the controls. "You mean this time machine can talk to me?"

 _We always have been able to communicate_ , the voice said. _And though I never understood it, you said we would all find out some day. Which I assume is today._

"I can hear her," I whispered, looking at The Doctor with wide eyes.

He grinned, and then motioned for us to go up the stairs. Madame Vastra and Jenny still had hold of my hands, and together, we went up the stairs and I listened to the TARDIS' instructions until we came upon a door.

 _This is the wardrobe_ , the TARDIS told me, and I nodded before opening the door. All three of our jaws dropped, staring at all the winding racks, and all the clothes.

"He has _everything_ ," I gasped, walking in, and running my hand along the fabrics. "What am I even supposed to change into?"

"Something easy to move around in," Jenny advised, going through the racks.

"I have to look good, though," I giggled, shifting awkwardly when Vastra seemed to get too close for comfort.

"Lily," she sighed, "trust me when I say I am your friend. We have met before, and I promise, I am good."

Jenny nodded from her place, smiling at the lizard like creature.

I bit my lip, looking at her hesitantly, but nodded also. "I'm sorry; I really shouldn't be that surprised about aliens. Especially with everything that's been happening these past few years. I'm just… shocked, I suppose."

"Which is to be expected," she agreed, and wandered over to another rack. "And, I can't really blame you. When we first met, you seemed to know quite a bit about me, yet I had no idea who you were."

I stopped rummaging through the clothes for a second, and looked at the two women around me. "So what he said was true then?" I asked. "I really have met you all before?"

"Well, you will," Vastra corrected. "It's all in your future, our past. You're in interesting case."

"Lily," Jenny called, and Vastra and I both turned to see her holding out a pair of black pants, that resembled skinny jeans, but even from this distance, I could tell they would be easy to move around in. "What do you think?"

"They're so cute!" I gushed, rushing over to feel the material.

"I remember you wearing something like those the first time I met you," Vastra said, smiling. "And you were always wearing heels. No matter what the occasion was, you wore heels."

I grinned. "That sounds like me," I laughed.

It took half an hour, but we finally had picked out an outfit. I was wearing the black pants that Jenny had found, and added a wide, black belt that I could easily tuck something in if needed. The top we had decided on was kind of a mixture of an older and modern style. It zipped up the front, and was sort of corset looking. It was purple, with a grey stripe on each side. The sleeves covered my shoulders, but didn't go any further than that. I had on fake leather, fingerless gloves, and I felt pretty bad ass. And, like Vastra had said, I had found a pair of tall, black heeled boots. My short, naturally tight curled hair hung loosely around my face, and looking in the mirror, I almost didn't recognize myself.

"I look… scary," I decided, running my fingers around the low neckline of my top.

Before either of the two could respond, Rory the Roman knocked on the door, before coming in. "Um, the Doctor was wondering if you were ready yet."

We turned to face him, and I nodded slowly.

He stopped, however, looking at me. "Lily," he started, looking me up and down, smiling. "You look like yourself again."

I blinked, and glanced back at the mirror. Was the Lily they all knew so much different than me? Was I even the right Lily? There were thousands on Lily's on this planet, and they say that there are six other people in the world that look just like you. They had to be mistaken, right?

The Doctor himself soon appeared at the doorway, and the look on his face had everyone – even me, and I didn't even know him – on edge. "Can I speak to Lily for a moment?" he asked, his eyes never leaving me.

The others left, and Vastra shot me a look, before walking out, following Rory.

The Doctor didn't say anything for a while, but his eyes never left me. When he took in my outfit, he smiled softly.

"Doctor, are…are you sure that I'm the right girl you're looking for?" I asked, staring at the mirror again.

The Doctor smiled, walking over, but stopped a few feet away. "Lily, I would spot you in a sea of people. I could never mistake you for someone else."

I nodded slightly, too scared about everything to press the subject. However, I turned to him when I saw that wasn't the reason why he came to talk to me. "What's wrong? What are you thinking?"

He held my eyes for a few seconds, before closing his, and moving towards me. He held my left hand once more, and brought it to his lips. He kissed the back of my hand softly, before answering. "Lily, once, long, long ago, you told me the outline of the story of how you met me," he started, looking at me with fearful eyes.

"And… what did I say?" I asked, terrified of the answer.

"You told me it was the worst, and best, day of your life," he stated.

I blinked, not sure if I had heard him right. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. When I asked for more information, you just laughed." He furrowed his brow, staring down at me. "You also said it was the only time that you knew of when we met in order. So I don't know what makes this the worst or best day for you… But I want to apologize in advance."

"I sound really annoying, and dumb," I half-heartedly joked, but he didn't smile in return.

He just shook his head, and kissed my hand again. "No. No, you're the most wonderful person I've ever met."

Before I could respond, he started walking towards the door, leaving me to follow him.

 _He's fine_ , the TARDIS said in my mind, obviously sensing my worry. _He's just upset, because you don't know him._

 _But everyone knows me_ , I pointed out in my mind. _Even you, and I have no idea how we're talking. You're just a machine._

I felt her laughter, and I couldn't help but smile softly at the sound. _Maybe now, but soon, you'll become used to everything._

 _I hope you're right, because I'm feeling slightly crazy at the moment._ I grimaced at the thought of talking to a strange voice in my head, but it felt so comfortable.

She laughed again, and I chuckled with her. The Doctor turned, giving me an amused look, almost like he had seem me do it before.

 _Because you have – well, will,_ the TARDIS confessed, following my thoughts.

 _Can you just tell me one thing?_ I asked. _Anything, I don't care what it is._

It was silent for a bit, until I felt a sigh. _You were the one who told me, when we first met. And it makes no sense to me either. But you once said that you were my child, but not my child. A child of the TARDIS, but with two human parents._

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked aloud, stopping, and realizing I was now back in the control room with everyone else.

"Lily? Are you alright?" Rory asked, looking at me worriedly.

I nodded stiffly, and tried to continue my conversation with the TARDIS, but she had shut off our link, and was being completely silent.

The floor beneath me suddenly shook, and I stumbled, but quickly caught my balance. Everyone around me fell to the ground, except for The Doctor, who continued to run around the consul, pressing buttons.

"Lily, come here!" he shouted, waving me over.

I cautiously ran over, staring at all the buttons.

"You always had a knack at driving this thing, but said I never taught you," The Doctor said, while flipping a switch. "See if you can do it again."

"Are you insane?" I asked, my eyes wide.

With a grin, he nodded, pressing several buttons. "We need to silent her, so that we don't get caught."

 _TARDIS_ , I begged with my mind, _if I'm your child, but… not your child, you can teach me how to drive you, right?_

 _You don't need me,_ she responded. _Go on, and try it._

I groaned, and stared at all the buttons. "What am I supposed to do?" I asked both the Doctor and TARDIS, but neither of them acknowledged my panic. With a growl, I rubbed my temples, staring at the controls. Turn the sound off? A look at a big, black switch let me know that the brakes were on. How did I know that? I quickly flipped it, and the room around me stopped shaking, and the whooshing, groaning sound stopped.

"Ah!" The Doctor suddenly exclaimed, and everyone slowly stood to their feet. "There we go. Now, we all know the plan, yes?"

Everyone nodded, except me. "What plan?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"You'll be with Madame Vastra and Jenny," The Doctor told me, and the two women waved. "You'll be safe, I promise."

I nodded, and Vastra took my shoulder, pulling me over to her and Jenny's side.

"Right," The Doctor said, looking at everyone in turn, his gaze lingering on me. "Meet you at the rendezvous."


	2. A Good Man Goes to War

Vastra and Jenny took me through several corridors, and occasionally the lizard lady had to knock out some soldiers that were wandering the hall.

We finally made it to a dark room, with two men inside. They were sitting in front of a clear glass window, looking over a large room, where soldiers were standing together, watching a man speak. A general or colonel, perhaps.

The two women beside me pounced, and had their swords at the men's necks in seconds.

"Go on," Vastra hissed, "resist. I am ever so hungry."

"Now dear," Jenny started, "which button controls the lights?"

I ran up to them, to see both the men point at the same button, a large red button that I was _itching_ to press.

"Wait for the Doctors signal," Vastra reminded me, and I sighed.

I watched through the glass, my eyes never straying from the mad man dressed as a monk below. "Three minutes, forty seconds," he stated, smirking. "Amelia Pond!" he then shouted. "Get your coat!" He threw his hood up, and I slammed my fist on the button. The window showed nothing but darkness, but I could still hear all the confusion.

I waited a few seconds before switching the lights on again. Chaos erupted below, but Vastra, Jenny and I tied up the men we held hostage. They were carelessly thrown behind us, and we set to work on the controls, putting the place on almost complete lockdown.

"Clever, isn't he?" Jenny asked, watching the screens.

I smiled. "Is he like this all the time?" I asked.

"Yes. And he's rather attractive as well," Vastra muttered, nudging me and nodding.

"You do realize he's a man, don't you ma'am?" Jenny asked, looking up at her sharply.

I raised an eyebrow at the two women, and chuckled.

"Mammals," Vastra said dismissively. "They all look alike."

"Thank you," Jenny said dryly, and my jaw dropped.

"You're a gem, aren't you?" I asked.

Vastra turned to us, tilting her head. "Was I being insensitive again?" she asked, and shifted her gaze to Jenny. "I don't know why you put up with me."

She suddenly whipped around, and shot out her tongue, hitting one of the men we had tied up, who was trying to call for help. I jumped, and my hand went to my chest, trying to steady my racing heart.

Vastra and Jenny just smiled at each other, and then grinned at me.

"This is insanity," I muttered, observing the scene below me.

"You'll get used to it, Lily," Vastra sighed.

The soldiers below had finally stopped shooting each other, and were disarming their weapons.

"Are humans really that stupid in the future?" I asked, as more lizard and rhino people made themselves known. Where did all these people come from?

"We had more friends in the TARDIS than you realized," Vastra smirked as the Doctor starting speaking to 'Danny Boy.'

A few minutes later, the Doctor bounded into the control room, reminding me a little boy on Christmas Day.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed, collapsing into a rolling chair. I leaned against the controls next to him, as Madame Vastra and Jenny wandered around the room.

"I'm still confused," I told him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Ask away," he said, waving his arms.

"Who's Amy?" I asked. "And what are we saving her from?"

He sighed, and rubbed his face with his hands. "Amelia is one of your best friends, as you say. Red head, Scottish girl, bit of a temper. She's Rory's wife, and was taken from us. She was pregnant, and recently had a baby. We're here to save them both."

"Is this a typical thing for you?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Not exactly, no," he smiled, and the colonel was dragged in. "Three minutes, forty two seconds."

I blinked as I realized the Doctor had been counting how long it would take to take control. Impressive.

"Colonel Manson," Strax barked, "you will give the order for your men to withdraw."

"No," the Doctor rushed, "Colonel Manson, I want you to tell your men ' _run away_.'"

"What?" the Colonel asked.

"Those words, run away," the Doctor repeated. "I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you 'Colonel Runaway.' I want children laughing outside your door because they found the house of Colonel Runaway." He suddenly leapt up, startling me. "And when people come to you and ask you if trying to get to me through the people I love…!"

Vastra growled beside him, and I took a step closer, trying to calm him down a bit.

"…is in any way a good idea…," he paused, and I reached my hand half way before dropping it. "I want you to tell them your name." He gave a humorless laugh. "Oh, look, I'm angry. That's new. I'm really not sure what's going to happen now."

Vastra nodded at me, and without hesitating, I placed my hand on his forearm. His eyes darted to me, and I felt him relax a little.

"The anger of a good man is not a problem," a woman's voice stated, and I whipped around to see an older woman with dark, tight curls, and a silver eye patch. "Good men have too many rules."

The Doctor slowly turned around, with sadness etched in his features. "Good men don't need rules," he told her. "Today is not the day to find out why I have so many."

He sounded terrifying, and I found it hard to believe he could switch from caring, to funny, to sinister within the same hour.

The woman stared at the Doctor for a while, before her eye flickered to the colonel. "Give the order," she demanded, and the Doctor looked satisfied. "Give the order Colonel – 'Run Away.'"

The Doctor gave instructions to Strax, Vastra and Jenny, and then he took my hand, and led me down a hall. "I actually thought it would be harder than that," he confessed, glancing back at me.

I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. "You were scary, you know?" I told him, picking up my pace to catch up with him. "I was almost terrified to be in same room as you."

His eyes shifted towards me, and then we burst into a white room, with Rory and a red head holding two babies and kissing. It must be Amy.

"Ewe, kissing _and_ crying," the Doctor groaned. "I-I-I-I'll – I'll be back in a bit."

He started to tug my hand, but Rory's voice called us back. "Oi, both of you," he said. "Get in here, now."

I grinned, and dragged the Doctor down the steps so I could see the two babies.

"My daughters," Rory said proudly. "What do you think?"

"Hello," I cooed, stroking one of their heads.

The Doctor was grinning next to me. "Hello. Hello, uh…" He trailed off, looking at Amy. I glanced up too, smiling sheepishly at her. "Babies."

"Melody and Lily," Amy corrected, grinning at me, and giving me a hug. "She was named after you," she grinned. "My best girlfriend."

"U-um," I stuttered. "I don't-"

"Don't know me yet," Amy interrupted, looking heart broken.

"Yeah," I whispered. "That."

"Melody and Lily," the Doctor quickly said, his eyes shifting. "Hello Melody and Lilly Pond."

The babies gurgled, and I smiled again.

"Melody and Lily Williams," Rory corrected, looking annoyed.

"Melody and Lily Williams are geography teachers," Amy teased, "Melody and Lily Pond are superheroes."

The Doctor knelt down, and sniffed Amy, and I raised my eyebrows. "Well, yes, I suppose she does smell nice. I never really sniffed her," he said, and his eyes widened with glee as he took in Amy. "Amelia Pond, come here." They embraced in a hug, and Rory handed me Melody.

While they talked, I cooed to the little girl in my arms, and grinned.

"It's okay, she's still yours," the Doctor said, talking to Lily – the baby – in Rory's arms. "And, really, you should call her 'Mummy,' not big milk thing."

"Does he do this a lot?" I whispered to Amy, who looked just as confused as me.

"Okay, what are you doing?" she asked, as I handed Melody to her.

"I speak baby," the Doctor told us, with a serious look on his face.

"No, you don't," Amy stated.

The Doctor just smirked, and subconsciously pulled me closer to him. "I speak everything," he said, and looked down at Melody. "Don't I, Melody Pond?"

She just cooed in response, and I smiled.

"No it's not," he said, and tugged his bow tie. "It's cool."

Amy laughed, and I giggled with her.

"Doctor," Madame Vastra called, storming into the room. "Take a look. They're leaving. Demons Run is ours, without a drop of blood spilt. My friend, you have never risen higher."

The Doctor walked over to a window, overviewing the main room below, where soldiers were being marched out of the base. He smiled a bit, and then I was being led back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor disappeared inside, while I talked with Amy. The TARDIS erupted with noise behind us, but we ignored it.

"So," I started, holding Lilly Jr., "tell me about yourself. How did we meet? Er, I mean, you meet me?"

"As you and your sister always say, 'spoilers.'" Amy winked.

"Sister?" I asked. "I don't have a sister."

She had a look of panic, before Melody started crying. Amy shushed her, and we walked over to Rory, who was standing guard.

"What's wrong?" he asked, turning to us.

"She doesn't like the TARDIS noise," Amy sighed. "I asked him to turn something off, but it was all, 'But I don't want to punch a hole in the space-time continuum."

"He probably doesn't even know how to fix it," I sighed. "He was flying with the brakes on earlier."

Amy laughed, and embraced me in a hug. "You always say that," she chuckled, and I rolled my eyes.

"Rory," Jenny called, walking over with Strax behind her. "The Judoon have escorted the clerics out of the quadrant, the spitfires have returned to their own time, Captain Avery and his men are – is she alright?" She stopped midsentence to look at the two babies crying in their parents' arms.

"Yeah, they're just crying," Amy assured, and kissed the top of Melody's head.

"Give them to me, human fools!" Strax demanded. "They need changing!"

"I just changed her," Amy explained, looking tired. "I-I think she may need a feed."

"A feed. Of course," Strax agreed, stepping forward. "I'll take care of everything."

Rory stepped in front of us, with a menacing look. "Uh, I really don't think you will, actually."

Strax glared, and stood up a little taller. "I have gene-spliced myself for all nursing duties. I can produce magnificent quantities of lactic fluid!"

"Does this sort of thing happen a lot?" I whispered to Amy and she shrugged.

"They're not hungry, they're tired," the Doctor announced, climbing out of the TARDIS, and carrying a large cradle. "Sorry, girls, they're just not listening."

"What's this, girls?" Amy asked, smiling at the wooden cradle.

"Very pretty, according to your daughters," the Doctor cooed, grinning and tickling Lily.

"It's a," Rory started, glancing at the Doctor, "it's a cot."

"No flies on the Roman," the Doctor sighed, and Amy and I giggled. "Giver them here, hey!" He gently took Melody from Amy's arms, placing the small infant into the cot, and then Lily.

"But where would you get a cot?" Rory asked, watching.

"It's old," Amy observed.

" _Really_ old," I agreed, stroking the wood.

"Doctor, um, do you have children?" the red head asked, staring at him.

I glanced up to see the alien man's eyes flicker to me before answering. "No."

"Have you _ever_ had children?" she asked again.

I furrowed my eyebrows as the Doctor ignored her, instead listening to the babies talk. "No, no, it's real. It's my hair."

I grinned as he played with the ends of his hair, looking offended.

"Who slept in here?" Amy asked, unwilling to drop the subject.

Before anyone could say anything else, Madame Vastra's voice came in over an intercom. "Doctor, we need you in the main control room," she stated

"Be right there," he called back. "Things to do. I've still got to work out what this base is for. We can't leave till we know." He started walking, and as he passed me, he grabbed my hand, and pulled me along.

"Uh, but this is where I was?" Amy called, jogging after us. "The whole time I thought I was on the TARDIS, I was really here?"

Confused, I looked to the mad man at my side. He glanced at me nervously, before covering my ears. "Hey!" I protested, but couldn't hear a thing. Rory soon walked over, replacing the Doctors hands, and I gave up my struggles. The Doctor and Amy embraced in a hug for a bit, and I could see their lips moving, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

"But, you always hold out on us," Amy begged, as I was finally able to hear again, and was being led to the control room once more. "Doctor, it's our babies. Tell us something, one little thing."

"It's mine," the Doctor sighed, turning around. My eyes landed on the cradle, and I understood.

"What is?" Rory asked.

"The cot," the Doctor replied, pointing, "it's my cot. I slept in there." And then he led me out of the room.

"You realize that I have no idea what's going on at the moment," I told him, glancing up.

He smirked. "Isn't that nice for a change?" he asked, and put a little hop in his step.

When we finally reached the control room, the giant blue man was seated in front of the control pad.

"What?" I asked. "Did you hack into their systems or something?"

"I believe I sold it to them," he corrected.

"Ooh! So what have we learned?" the Doctor asked, putting his hands on the blue man's shoulders.

I sighed, and walked over to Vastra, who had a concerned look on her face.

"That anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake," the lizard lady spoke up.

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked, raising his eyebrows.

"The words of an old friend," she sighed, raising her chin, "who once found me in the London Underground, attempting to avenge my sister's death on perfectly innocent tunnel-diggers."

"Well," the Doctor trailed, making his way over, "you were very cross at the time."

"As you were today, old friend," Vastra stated. "Point taken, I hope." The Doctor started to walk away, so the lizard beside me spoke up. "Now, I have a question – a simple one. Are Melody and Lily human?"

My eyes widened, as I stared at her. Her face was serious, and grave.

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor asked, forcing a chuckled. "Of course they are. Completely human. What are you talking about?"

"They've been scanning them since they were born," the blue man informed, "and I think they found what they were looking for."

"Human DNA," I observed, looking at the screen.

"Look closer, Doctor ," Vastra said, as we walked closer to the screens. "Human plus. Specifically, human plus Time Lord."

"Time Lord?" I asked, confused. "What's that?"

"It's my race," the Doctor sighed, and the blue man stood, offering the 'Time Lord' to sit, but he refused. "I'm the last of the Time Lords, and this is impossible. But their human! They're Amy and Rory's daughters."

"You've told me about your people," Vastra said calmly. "They became what they did through prolonged exposure to the time vortex. The untempered schism."

"Over billions of years," the Doctor told her, waving his hands around. "It didn't just happen."

"So how close are _they_?" Vastra asked. "Could they even regenerate?"

I looked between the both of them, at a complete loss as to what was going on.

"No, no," the Doctor rushed. "I don't think so."

"You don't sound positive," I noticed, and he shot a quick glare at me.

"Because I don't understand how this happened," he stated.

"Which leads me to ask _when_ did it happen?" Vastra asked, and I blanched at her straightforwardness.

"When?" he asked, confused.

"Ugh! I _am_ trying to be delicate," Vastra griped. "I know how you can blush."

The blue man laughed, and the Doctor looked annoyed.

"When did these babies…," Vastra sighed, looking at me for help.

"Begin," I clarified. "When were the babies… conceived?"

The Doctor froze, looking at us. "Oh, you mean…"

"Quite," Vastra nodded.

"Well how would I know?" the Doctor asked, fixing his bow tie, and looking nervous. "That's all humany, private stuff, it just sort of goes on. They don't put up a balloon, or anything." He started to walk away, all huffy like.

"But could the children have begun on the TARDIS, in flight, in the vortex?" Vastra asked, quickly following.

"No, no!" the Doctor shouted, spinning back around. "Impossible! It's all running about, sexy fish vampires, and blowing up stuff. And Rory wasn't even there at the beginning. Then he was dead, then he didn't exist, then he was plastic, then I had to reboot the whole universe – long story.

"Vampires?" I asked. "And what do you mean Rory was dead?"

"Now look, you're making me give away stuff," he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Anyway, technically, the first time they were on the TARDIS together, in this version of reality was on their w-" He suddenly looked panicked, as he looked back and forth between Vastra and I.

"On their what, Doctor?" I asked, slightly scared of the answer.

The Doctor gulped before answering. "On their wedding night."

Vastra looked sick, and the Doctor started pacing, and saying things I didn't understand. "It doesn't make sense; you can't just cook yourself up a Time Lord!"

"Of course not," Vastra agreed. "But you gave them one hell of a start, and they've been working very hard ever since."

"And, yet, they gave in so easily," the Blue man said softly. "Does that not bother anyone else?"

"You think it was all a trap?" I asked. "You can't plan something that big. Can you?"

The Doctor ignored us, still pacing the room. "Amy – she worried the baby – babies – would have a time-head. She said that-that-that-"

"Only you would ignore the instincts of a mother," Vastra accused.

"Or the instincts of a coward," the blue guy muttered. I had to learn his name… "This is too easy. There's something wrong."

"Why even do it?" the Doctor asked. "Even if you could get your hands a brand new Time Lord, what for?"

"A weapon?" I asked.

"Why would a Time Lord be a weapon?" he asked, and I shrugged.

"You guys are talking like they were the most powerful people, I took a stab at it," I defended, crossing my arms.

"Well," Vastra sighed, "they've seen _you_."

"Me?" the Doctor asked, disbelieving.

"Mr. Maldovar, you're right – this _was_ too easy," Vastra said. "We should get back to the others."

The Doctor sat down, looking heart broken. Not knowing what else to do, I hesitantly put my hand on his shoulder. He placed his hand over mine, and held it there.

"Me?" the Doctor whispered again, staring blankly.

Vastra and Maldovar looked at him for a moment, before shuffling out the door.

"Doctor," I started, kneeling down in front of him. "Please, I don't know what all is going on. Can you please explain?"

He looked up at me, and gave me a small smile. "Go join the others," he told me. "I promise, I will explain everything."

I bit my lip, but nodded anyway, before running down the hall to check on everyone. I didn't know a lot of things, but I did know that we had to keep the children safe.

When I reached the room, everyone was circling the TARDIS, looking confused. There was a glowing light surrounding it, and when Vastra touched it, she jumped back with a gasp. "Force field," she said shortly, and everyone turned when I made my way into the group.

Doors were heard slamming down a corridor, and Amy clutched her babies to her chest, looking scared. Singing was heard, getting louder by the second, and I whipped my head around, trying to find the headless monks.

"Lily, can you talk to her?" Amy asked. "The TARDIS, see if she knows what's going on?"

I closed my eyes, and tried to speak to the time machine, but there was nothing but a crackling response. "Nothing," I cried, clutching my head.

"Apparently, we're not leaving," Vastra observed, as lights flickered and door's locked.

"Is that the monks?" Rory asked, referring to the chanting.

"Oh, dear God," Maldovar gasped, "that's the attack prayer!"

"Rory, get Amy and the girls out of here," I snapped, looking around for a weapon.

Vastra made a series of orders for Strax, and we all gathered in a circle around the TARDIS. "This is where we'll make our stand," she decided, unsheathing her sword. "Clear lines of sight on all approaches."

The chanting increased, and I gulped, suddenly terrified. What had I gotten myself into?

"Centurion, you're needed!" Vastra called, glancing back the way Rory and Amy had gone.

"Look," I called, jogging over to some crates full of gun looking things.

"There should be some plasma pistols somewhere," a girl dressed in the enemies clothes said, running over also. "They left everything."

"Then find them, boy!" Strax demanded.

"She's definitely a girl," Vastra smirked, and Jenny turned.

"Oh, stop it!" she snapped.

I ignored them, going through the crates, finding two black handguns. I tucked them into my belt, and turned around in time to witness Maldovar get beheaded by the headless monks.

With a strangled scream, I stumbled back, slamming into a wall behind me.

"The children," Vastra choked out. "At all cost, protect the children!"

I swallowed hard, before pulling the two guns back out, and joining the others. I unlocked the safety, and took aim. The others disappeared around me, and the only thing I could see were the monks I was firing at. The fighting seemed to last for ages, when I suddenly heard a blood curdling scream from Amy. It seemed that with that cry, we all fought harder than before, and soon, there were several monks lying around us.

Rory immediately left to find his wife, and I collapsed on a crate. My mind raced with all the blood around me, and I felt like I was going to be sick. The world began to spin, and I clutched my hands to my head.

I could see movement all around me, but I couldn't focus. I stared at the guns in my hands for a bit, before slowly placing them on the ground. I couldn't believe what I had done. What had come over me? How could I ever do something like that?

Thunder and lightning suddenly flashed, and I was jolted from my thoughts. An older woman was addressing the Doctor, and she had tightly curled blonde hair, and winked at me.

"Well, then, Soldier," she said, "how goes the day?"

Everyone glared at her, and the Doctor looked furious. "Where the hell have you been?" he demanded, marching up to her. "Every time you've asked, I have been there. Where the hell were you today?"

"I couldn't have prevented this," the woman stated.

"You could've tried."

"And so, my dear, could you," she said. She then turned to Amy and Rory. "I know you're not all right, but hold tight, Amy, because you're going to be. And Lily." She turned to me, and I furrowed my eyebrow. "Hello my sister. First time meeting?"

I nodded slowly, and stood up. "Sister?"

"You think I wanted this?" the Doctor asked, ignoring me. "I didn't do this. This- this wasn't me!"

"This was exactly you," the woman – my sister – corrected. "All of this, all of it. You make them so afraid. When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you'd become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. 'Doctor' – the word for 'healer and 'wise man' throughout the universe. We get that word from you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word 'Doctor' means 'Mighty Warrior.' How far you've come. And now they've taken children. The children of your best friends. And they're going to turn one into a weapon, just to bring you down. One will be experimented on, and dropped off. And all this, my dear, in fear of you."

The Doctor marched up to her, looking evil. "Who are you?" he asked. "Who is Lily?"

"Oh, look at your cot," she smiled, "haven't seen that in a very long while." She ran away, with the Doctor chasing her.

"No, no, you tell me," he demanded. "You tell me who you two are."

"I am telling you," she answered, bringing his hand to the cot. "Can't you read?"

I looked at the cot, just as confused as the others. Nothing but circles was on the side, but the Doctor looked amazed.

"Hello," he greeted the woman, like it was his first time.

"Hello," she chuckled back.

"Hello," he said to me, but I just narrowed my eyes.

He giggled, looking between Amy, Rory, the stranger and I. "But – but that means-"

"I'm afraid it does," the woman laughed.

He clapped, and then glanced at Amy and Rory, before staring at me. "Ooh, but she and I, we, we, we, uh…" He pointed at me, and then made weird kissing noises.

The woman just smiled, and nodded.

"Vastra and Jenny, 'till the next time," he said, looking over to the odd couple. "Rory and Amy, I know where to find your daughters, and on my _life_ , they will be safe. River, get them all home. Lily, with me." He marched on, barely looking back.

"Wait," I called, stopping by River. "We're sisters? I don't have a sister."

She chuckled, and brought me into a hug. "Twins, actually," she said softly into my ear, and I pulled back, raising my eyebrows. "It's a long story, and you'll discover it next time we meet, I promise."

I bit my lip, and before I could answer, the Doctor yelled for me again. I sighed, before picking up the two pistols on the ground once more. I had a feeling that they would be needed. I then made my way back to the TARDIS, and followed the Doctor inside. He did a little dance, and spun me around, before dashing back outside the TARDIS, giggling like a mad man. Then, just as quickly, he was back in, and starting up the TARDIS.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" I asked, as he danced around the controls. "What about Melody and Lily?"

The TRADIS began to groan, and the ground started to shake, but it didn't affect me. When it stopped, neither of us moved.

"Lilly, have you ever wondered about your parents?" he asked me, grinning. "Ever wondered why they gave you away?"

"Of course I do," I answered, shifting my gaze. "Every day I wonder why they gave me up."

"Well, they didn't," he laughed, bounding over, and taking my hands. "You were taken from them! You and River were taken from Amy and Rory!"

"What?" I asked, not believing him.

"You two were taken from Demons Run, and placed in other times throughout history. For some reason, they separated you two," the Doctor explained.

 _A child of the TARDIS_ , the TARDIS spoke.

"No," I stated, shaking my head. "Take me home Doctor. Now."

His gleeful face fell a bit, but didn't move.

"I said, take me home." I felt hot tears pooling in my eyes. This was too much to take in.

"Lily, calm down," he begged, putting his hand on my shoulder, but I shoved him off.

"I just saw a blue man get his head chopped off!" I cried. "Do _not_ tell me to calm down!"

The Doctor looked hurt for a moment, before taking my hand, leading me to a chair, and sitting me down. "Hey," he murmured, kissing my forehead, and stroking my hair. "It all gets better, I promise. I've seen you handle situations better than anyone else I know. You'll be alright."

More tears slid down my cheeks, and I curled up in a ball. Did he mean there were more days like this? How many deaths would I have to witness?

"I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered, leaning his forehead against mine. "I didn't know the day would turn out to be so awful."

"You said," I mumbled, "that it was the worst and best day of my life. How could it possibly be the best?"

"You got to meet your parents," he offered, taking my hand, and standing me back up. "You got a glance at your future, whether it was intended or not. And, let's not forget the best one of all – you got to meet me!" He spun me around, and I couldn't help the giggle that escaped me.

"I suppose those are some benefits," I smiled.

"Which reminds me," the Doctor started, searching his pockets. "You told me once, long ago that I did something the first time you met me. It seems crazy, yes, but you said it, so I must do it." He pulled out a ring, with a pretty, sparkling diamond that seemed to catch fire in the light. One either side, was two empty sockets that looked like it was missing some jewels. "Promise not to slap me, because you and your sister tend to have a habit of slapping me in this regeneration."

"Why would I…?" I trailed off, my gaze still on the ring.

"You told me that I proposed to you, the first time you met me," the Doctor said, awkwardly fumbling with the ring.

"You – I – what?" My eyes were wide, and the Doctor was avoiding eye contact. "But, but I'm only a senior in high school! I just met you today!"

"Well, you said it, not me," he stuttered, still looking away.

"What do I say?" I asked, unsure.

The Doctor smiled, finally meeting my eyes. "Well, today was the first day I've ever seen you without your ring."

I thought back to earlier, when he and Rory had kidnapped me. He had immediately noticed my left hand, and even said something about a ring. Would I really say yes to someone like this?

 _You know_ , the TARDIS said in my mind, _you really aren't supposed to change time lines._

I looked back at the Doctor, sighing slightly. "I guess I can't break the rules of time, can I?" I asked, smiling.

The Doctor grinned at me, embracing me in a hug. "You had me terrified for a moment there," he chuckled, and slid the ring on my finger. "Now, these two spaces here," he pointed at the two spaces on either side of the diamond, "are for when you meet other regenerations of me. Show me the ring, and I'll add the rest."

"What are regenerations?" I asked, tilting my head.

He smirked before going back to the console. "Nope, no more questions," he chuckled. "I promised Steve five minutes, more or less, and that's what I plan on doing."

"But it's a time machine," I argued. "We could sit here for week, and go back to the minute after we left. Why won't you explain anything else?"

"Because then I'd be giving stuff away," he stated, his eyes flickering to me.

"Just answer one thing, then," I tried to compromise, and he stopped. "In the control room, you said something about 'cooking up Time Lords.' What does that mean? For me?"

He stayed silent for a bit, looking torn. "You're part Time Lord," he sighed. "Con… conceived in the TARDIS, while in flight in the vortex. You're part Time Lord."

I stared at him with my jaw dropped. "Am I… I mean…" I shook my head, trying to clear it. "You look human. I won't change or anything, right?"

He chuckled. "You'll be perfectly fine. Probably stop aging in a few years, though. And one heart, that's all you get."

"And River… my sister… she's-"

"Also part Time Lord, yes." He nodded, and started pressing buttons. "Now, no more or I'll be spilling more secrets."

The TARDIS began to shake, and that sound I've learned to like started. In seconds it stopped, and when I opened the door, I saw we were back in the practice room.

"Ah, you see?" the Doctor chimed, coming up behind me. "Exactly two seconds after we left. I'd hurry if I were you, because if I remember correctly, then one of those girls, Alexia, was heading for the phone."

My eyes widened as I remember. "You said I'll see you again?" I asked, giving him a hug.

"Of course," he said, speaking into my hair.

I then pulled away, and with a small smile, I ran out to the hall, and into the choir room. The door slammed into the wall as I barged in, but didn't care. I dashed over to Alexia, and stole the phone from her before there was a serious problem.

"False alarm," I stated. "Just a prank war between the band and choir again." Then I slammed the phone down, and leaned against Mr. Jackson's desk, and I sighed in relief.

Everyone stared at me in shock, before they all began speaking at once. It took fifteen minutes for Mr. Jackson to get everyone to calm down enough so that he could talk.

"Miss Sikes, who were those men?" he asked. "Did they hurt you?"

"They were from the orphanage," I lied. "They had information on my birth parents."

"One was dressed like a Roman!" Alexia exclaimed

"It… It's a strange orphanage," I managed, avoiding all eyes.

"And where did you get those clothes? How in the world did you change so quickly?" she asked, looking me up and down. Her eyes widened when she saw the guns, and I closed my eyes in despair as everyone started panicking.

Luckily, the bell rang in that moment, and while everyone was still in shock, I grabbed my messenger bag, and made a mad dash for the doors. I had to go out a side door of the school so that no one would see me, and when I was in the clear, I stuffed the two pistols in my bag. As long as those were hidden, no one would really find the need to stop me. I walked as calmly as I could to my Daisy Duke Jeep, and hopped in, keeping my head low. Careful not to hit anyone or their car, I pulled out of the student parking lot, and drove as fast as I could to my house.

Maybe I could calm down and sort everything out before my parents got home.


	3. Night Terrors

All I wanted was to have a good nap, and hopefully wake up from this strange dream.

As soon as I got home, I slammed the door to my Jeep, and ran across the porch, fumbling with my key, before slamming the door behind me, and sighing in relief.

Free. I was free from… whatever happened earlier. I'm still not sure if everything that happened was actually _real_. Did I really just meet a time traveling alien? Are my birth parents really British/Scottish? I reached into my bag, and pulled out the two black pistols. I shot people. Well, headless people that were technically dead anyway, but still. I watched deaths. And less than only three minutes had passed judging by my friends. How could so much happen in such a short amount of time?

I pushed myself off the door, and sat down at the family computer, drumming my fingers as the internet loaded. I glanced at the clock several times, noting that I had at least an hour before my adoptive father came home, and another two before my adoptive mother would return.

Google finally appeared on my screen, and I typed in _aliens in London_. Images of Big Ben being destroyed by a UFO covered my screen, followed by the 'Christmas Star' as they were calling it. Several news stories followed, like the Titanic nearly colliding into the Buckingham Palace, and millions more. I would have to narrow my search.

I typed in _The Doctor,_ but too many medical and science people popped up.

 _Big blue box_ \- some weird video that a couple of kids created.

With a sigh, I tried _TARDIS_. Only a couple of images showed up, but they were blurry. I could easily recognize the bigger on the inside box, and two blurry figures stepping inside. One of the figures had a long trench coat, and the other had tightly curled hair. It could have easily been River or me – the picture made it almost impossible to tell. But the one in the trench coat – who was he? The Doctor didn't look like the type of man to wear a long coat like that. He seemed more into crazy, mad man like clothes.

Another picture loaded, and I recognized the bright red hair of my newfound mother. Amy and Rory seemed much too young to be my parents. But the Doctor said that River and I were placed in different time frames. Why? If they were cruel enough to take us from our parents, why couldn't the people that kidnapped us at least kept us together?

There was a knock on the door, and I jumped, turning off the computer screen. I cautiously stood up, and inched my way to the door, standing on my tip toes to look out the peep hole.

There, the Doctor stood, with Amy on his right and Rory on his left. The Doctor was still dressed in his tweed jacket and bowtie – this time blue - , but Amy and was in real clothes, and Rory was no longer a Roman.

"Lily?" the Doctor called, tapping on the door again. "If you don't open the door, we're coming in by force."

"Go away Doctor," I called, glancing back at the computer. I wasn't ready to see him yet. It was too soon, and I couldn't handle something else.

"Are we fighting?" he called, furrowing his eyebrows. "I don't remember fighting. Is it something I do in the future?"

"Leave me alone," I snapped, checking to make sure the door was locked. When I was satisfied, I sat back down in my chair, and turned the computer screen back on. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory all continued knocking, but I just rolled my eyes, and continued scrolling down the page. Another blurry picture popped up, showing three figures – a short blonde, a tall, dark headed man, and that same curly head. They were all next to the TARDIS, but I couldn't make out facial features. How many people owned a TARDIS in this universe?

There was a buzzing sound coming from outside the door, but I just rolled my eyes. "Just give up, Doctor," I told him, zooming in on the picture. "It's locked."

The door flung open, and I jumped so high, that I fell out of my chair. I landed on the ground with a thud, and stared at the three people in front of me in shock. "How the hell did you get in?" I asked, using the computer desk to help me up.

"Sonic Screwdriver, my dear," the Doctor smirked, waving it around. "Now, when was the last time you saw me? It was obviously during a fight, which I can only think of once or twice, so which is it?" His eyes wandered over to the computer screen, and his green orbs flickered to meet mine. "We're still early in the relationship, aren't we?"

Amy and Rory pushed past the Doctor, and I was suddenly being hugged from both sides. Amy kissed me on the cheek, and refused to let go. "I was wondering when we'd see you again," she laughed, kissing me again.

I gently pushed her away, and took a step back. "I'm not ready for this," I stated, switching off the screen once more. "I've had enough to deal with today, I don't need another adventure."

"Today?" Rory asked, looking back at the Doctor.

"I literally just walked in the door, like fifteen minutes ago," I sighed, looking at the ground. "I was hoping for a night to clear my mind and get over what happened earlier."

"The last time we saw you was Demons Run," the Doctor said, suddenly looking hurt. "And you once said that this was the only time we met in chronological order. That was earlier today for you, wasn't it?"

"It was terrible," I whispered, nodding. "I've never been so terrified in my life."

Amy motioned for the boys, and they had a whispered conversation, before both Rory and the Doctor – both with some hesitation – walked out the door. Amy stood there for a bit, smiling at me.

"Lily, I know this is a shock," she started. "Trust me; I know what you're going through."

"Why is everyone giving speeches?" I asked. "You all keep saying stuff, but it makes no sense. I just want a straight answer."

"Ask away." She pulled me over to the couch, and sat me down.

I hesitated. Honestly, there was one question on my mind. "Who is the Doctor?" I asked. "I don't mean like the alien sense, like _what_ is he, I want to know _who_ ; as in a person."

Amy smiled. "He's a wonderful man," she answered. "He's brilliant, and kind. He's saved so many lives, and never stops."

"Is every day like Demons Run?" I asked, peeking up at her through my eyelashes.

"Of course not," Amy answered, smiling. "So? Do we have a deal? You'll come with us?"

I bit my lip, before grabbing my purse, and pulling out the two pistols, and tucking them into my belt. "Alright," I decided. "I'll go."

"He won't like the guns," Amy grinned, opening the door for me.

"He can get over it," I replied, smiling.

The Doctor and Rory were leaning against the TARDIS, which was standing in the middle of the driveway, next to my Jeep. When we stepped out, they looked up expectantly.

"Ah! See, Rory, I told you there was nothing to worry about," the Doctor said, clapping his hands, and marching into the blue box.

"I wasn't the one worrying," Rory muttered, just low enough for Amy and me to hear.

"Did you say something?" the Doctor asked, poking his head back out.

Rory shook his head, and I followed him into the TARDIS. She purred as I stepped in, and I grinned.

"Why am I here?" I asked, leaning against the controls.

"We have a house call to make," the Doctor said. He was smiling ear to ear, and dancing around.

"A house call?"

Amy rolled her eyes, and shrugged. "He didn't explain much to us either."

I sighed, and glanced over the controls. "You know you're flying with the breaks on again," I told him, spotting the little switch.

"I like the noise it makes. It's a great noise." He started to imitate the wheezing sound, and I cringed.

 _I do_ not _sound like that_ , the TARDIS said in my mind. _He makes me seem like a dying Raxacoricofallapatorian._

I giggled, looking away. "What's a… a Raxaco- a Raxacoric-?" I struggled with the word, tilting my head.

"A what?" Amy asked, furrowing her eyebrow.

The Doctor gave me an odd look before answering. "That's a story for another time, my dear," he sighed, smiling. "Now, next stop – to save a child from the monsters!" He slammed his fist on one final button, and we had to hold on to something to stop ourselves from falling. The TARDIS made her comforting noise, and then it all stopped.

Rory was the first one out the door, followed by Amy, me, and then the Doctor.

I looked around, and licked my lips. The buildings around us looked run down, and it was cold. I stopped in front of a puddle of water, and looked at the sky. It was dark, and cloudy.

"No offense, Doctor-" Rory started, looking around.

"Meaning the opposite," the bow tie man called.

"-but we could get a bus somewhere like this," Rory finished.

"The exact opposite," the Doctor retorted, closing and locking the TARDIS door.

"Well, I suppose it can't all be planets, and history, and stuff, Rory," Amy sighed, walking over to her husband.

It seemed strange to think of the two as my parents, but I could point out some similarities. I had Amy's nose, and Rory's hair color. My hair had more tight of curls than Amy, and I wondered where I got them.

"Yes, it can," the Doctor stated, walking over, and taking my hand to pull me along. "'Course it can. Planets, and history, and stuff, that's what we do. But not today, no. Today, we're answering a cry for help." He pulled out his weird sonic screwdriver thing, and started to scan around us. We walked towards an apartment complex that looked worse than the others around it. "From the scariest place in the universe – a child's bedroom."

"How is a kid's bedroom the scariest place on earth?" I asked.

"Universe," he corrected, turning to me, and smirking. "What was the one thing you were afraid of when you were a child?"

"I dunno," I shrugged. "I guess the boogeyman."

"Exactly!" the Doctor grinned, turning back around, and resuming walking. "And where does the boogeyman live?"

My mouth formed an 'o' as I understood. "That makes sense," I mumbled, shifting my gaze.

We made our way to the elevator, where the Doctor hit the button for the second floor.

"'Please save me from the monsters?'" Rory read. I glanced over to see a small piece of paper in the Doctors hand. "Who sent that?"

"That's what we're here to find out," the Doctor answered, and then glanced at me. "Physic paper," he told me. "Anything I want it to say, it says. Comes in handy."

"Cool," I smiled.

The Doctor smirked, tucking it away into his pocket. "Maybe for your birthday."

Amy coughed, and crossed her arms. "That sounds like something a kid would say. 'Save me from the monsters.'"

"Exactly!" The Doctor snapped his gaze away from me, turning back to the elevator. "A scared kid. A very scared kid. So scared that, somehow, his cry for help got through to us in the TARDIS."

"Yeah, but you traced it here," Amy said, looking confused.

"Exactly." The elevator dinged, and the Doctor grinned. "Ah! Going up!"

We all stepped in, and the ride was silent. When we stepped off, we all started to go in opposite directions, looking for a scared kid. I knocked on the first door I came to, and a teenage girl a bit shorter than me answered. She had dark, black hair, and had silver contacts. She wore black skinny jeans that had gaping holes, and her shirt had a zombie on it, with a knife stabbed through its eye.

"What?" she asked, popping her bright blue gum.

"U-um," I stuttered, glancing down the hall. "I was wondering if, if um, you had noticed anything strange lately?" I asked, tugging on a curl. "You know, any weird noises… Any bumps in the night?"

She stared at me. "Did Blake set you up to this?" she asked, her accent coming out thick. "Is he tryin' to scare me again? Gettin' girls off the street to come knockin' on my door?"

"Erm, no, I-"

"Tell him it ain't gonna work." She slammed the door in my face, and I blinked, slowly turning away.

The others were walking my way, and I slowly started to go to join them. "I just got the door slammed in my face," I stated, still shocked.

"Us too," Amy huffed, running a hand through her hair.

"Let's split in twos," I suggested, leaning against the wall. "Use a different technique."

"Good idea!" the Doctor grinned, pulling me away from Amy and Rory. "You two finish up this floor, and we'll head upstairs!"

I had to jog to keep up, and was led to the elevator again.

"So, second trip," the Doctor said, almost nervously. "How is it so far?"

"As unbelievable as the first," I answered, smiling.

"So you don't regret it, then?" he asked, as the elevator doors dinged, and we stepped inside.

"No," I answered, shaking my head. "Of course, so far, I've just gotten a door slammed on me."

He chuckled, and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He waved it around a couple of times, and frowned. "This isn't making much sense," he muttered.

"Doctor?" I asked, as the doors opened again. "I was doing some research earlier-"

"Yes, I saw your computer," he chuckled, glancing over.

"How many TARDIS' are there in the universe?" I asked. "There were a lot of pictures, but it looked like different people."

His steps faltered a bit, and he slowly turned to me. "That's… a long, complicated story," he started. "I'm the only Time Lord left in existence. I have the only TARDIS left."

"But those pictures-"

"Were me. Time Lords have a way to cheat death, a loop hole," he said, avoiding my eyes. "It's called regenerating. When I regenerate, every cell in my body changes. New face, new taste buds, new interests, new personality… But I'm always attractive, if I say so myself." He fixed his bow tie, and winked at me.

I giggled. "But those other people in the pictures I saw. Who were they?"

He stopped, and sighed. "Old friends," he said, his voice horse. "You'll meet them someday."

I could tell he didn't want to continue on the subject, so I dropped it. "This kid," I started, switching subjects, "why can't you just track him down using that?" I nodded to the sonic screwdriver, and I could see his shoulders raise, happy with the change of topic.

"It won't show me the specific location, just the general area," he explained. "Besides, it's more fun this way." He knocked on a door, but the resident just took one look at us, before slamming the door.

"These people are rude," I huffed, leaning against the cement barrier, and watched as Amy and Rory walked along the floor beneath us.

In the window behind them, I spotted a young boy peeking out from behind a curtain.

"Doctor," I whispered, afraid that just the sound of my voice would scare the poor kid away. "Look."

He stood beside me, and looked just in time to see the boy pull the curtains back, hiding his face once more.

"Think that's him?" I asked, glancing at the man beside me.

He had this funny grin on his face, and his gaze held mine for a bit longer than I was comfortable with; however, I couldn't look away. Those green eyes captivated my brown ones, and my breathing hitched.

The Doctor then cleared his throat rather loudly, and took a step back. The spell was broken, and I shook my head, trying to clear the fog that had surrounded me.

"I believe you're right," he stated, still smiling softly. "See, I knew I made a good choice when picking you up."

I grinned, and followed the Doctor to the elevator. "We'll have to be careful while talking to the kid. We don't want to scare him," he advised, and I rolled my eyes.

"Please. I've been babysitting since I was thirteen," I stated. "I know how to take care of a kid."

Amy and Rory arrived at the elevator the same time we did, but before I could say anything, Amy beat me to it.

"Hey! Any luck?" she asked.

"Three old ladies, a traffic warder from Croatia, and a man with ten cats," the Doctor said, slightly giddy.

"What are we _actually_ looking for?" Rory sighed, looking annoyed.

"Ten cats!" the Doctor repeated, and I giggled. "Scared kid, remember?"

"I found scary kids, does that count?" Amy asked, truly looking scared.

Before I could speak up, the Doctor took a side step in front of me – barely noticeable, but the message was clear. "Um, try the next floor down," he advised. "Catch you later." He patted Amy on the shoulder, before grabbing my hand, and pulling me away.

I sent an apologetic look to my birthparents, before turning back to keep up with the mad man. We traipsed down the corridor, looking for the same window we saw the little boy in.

"How come you didn't mention the kid to Amy and Rory?" I asked, skipping.

"Too many people," he responded, giving a twirl. "We wouldn't want to overwhelm the poor kid, would we?"

I shrugged as we finally reached the door, and the Doctor knocked.

"I suppose you're right."

A man suddenly opened the door, and I jumped back a little in surprise. He had dark hair, and a dark shadow. Immediately, the Doctor held out the physic paper, grinning.

"Oh! Right, that was quick," the guy said, looking confused.

"Was it?" the Doctor asked, and I turned his wrist around to see what the paper showed. It was papers saying he was an official child physiologist. I raised my eyebrows, impressed.

"Claire said she'd phone someone, social services," the man added.

"That's us," I grinned, after receiving a shove from the Doctor.

"It's not easy, you know," the guy sighed, "admitting your kid's got a problem."

"You've got a problem, I've got a problem, she's got a problem," the Doctor pointed to me, shrugging. "I bet they're all connected. I'm the Doctor, this is Lily, call me Doctor – what can we call you?"

"Alex."

"Hi, Alex," I greeted, shaking his hand.

The Doctor just walked in, with a faint 'hello' over his shoulder. I gave Alex a smile, before following.

"So, tell me about George," the Doctor ordered, glancing over at a door that the name 'George' in childlike print.

Alex just closed the door, looking shocked, and led us into the sitting room.

"Ever since he was born, he's been a funny kid," Alex told us, as we sat down on the sofa.

"Well, that's good," the Doctor grinned. "We like funny, don't we?"

I rolled my eyes, and faced Alex. "Funny how?" I asked.

"Well… he never cries. Bottles it all up, I suppose." Alex sighed, and scratched his head. "Tell him off, he just looks at you."

"How old is he?" the Doctor asked, flipping the page to the album he was looking at.

"He's eight in January," Alex answered. "I mean, he should be grown out of stuff like this, shouldn't he?"

"Maybe," I said, thinking about a little neighborhood kid I used to watch. "Some just don't mature as fast as other kids."

"It's got worse, though, lately?" the Doctor asked, ignoring me.

I just rolled my eyes, and took the album away from him. I studied the photos of a newborn baby, with wide blue eyes, and smiled. Flipping back, I noticed pictures from what looked like a party. I furrowed my eyebrows. Why would they put baby pictures and pictures like this in the same album?

"Yeah, we talked about getting help," Alex said, looking at his hands. "You know, maybe sending him somewhere. He started getting these nervous ticks, you know funny little cough, blinking all the time. And now, it's got completely out of hand. I mean, he's scared to death about everything."

"Pantophobia," the Doctor spoke up, and we stared at him.

"What?" Alex and I asked at the same time.

"That's what it's called, 'Pantophobia,'" he repeated. "Not the fear of pants, though, if that's what you're thinking. It's the fear of everything; including pants, I suppose, in that case… Sorry, go on."

"He hates clowns-"

"Understandable."

"-old toys. He thinks the old lady across the way is a witch. He hates having a bath in case there's something under the water. The lift sounds like someone breathing." Alex gave a long sigh. "Look, I don't know. I'm not an expert." He sat down on the chair next to the sofa, looking defeated. "Maybe you two can get through to him."

"I'll do my best," the Doctor promised, giving a small smile.

"So, can we meet George?" I asked, grinning.

Alex must have heard something I didn't, because he suddenly leapt up, and dashed to George's door. I gave the Doctor a confused look, and he chuckled. "What? You didn't hear him?"

"Hear who?" I asked.

"George. He was in there nearly crying." The Doctor fixed his bowtie and grabbed my hand, leading me to the door. "Any parent would recognize that sound."

I narrowed my eyes at him, but let it go. I had a feeling he wouldn't tell me anything anyway.

We stopped in the doorway, and a small boy, George, stared up at us. He had short blonde hair, and was wearing blue and white striped pajamas. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Lily, and this is the Doctor," I said, smiling softly.

"A doctor?" George exclaimed, looking scared. "Have you come to take me away?"

"No, George, I just want to talk to you," he reassured, with his arms crossed.

"What about?"

The Doctor stepped into the room, but I remained in the doorway. "About the monsters."

"Maybe it was things on telly, you know?" Alex asked, pacing the room.

The Doctor grabbed a Rubik Cube, and fumbled with it. "Right."

"Scary stuff, getting under his skin, frightening him."

"Uh huh."

"Should we stop letting him watch?" Alex asked, turning to me, seeing as the Doctor was… preoccupied.

Before I could answer, the Doctor glanced over at George and smirked. "No, you don't want to do that."

"And Claire thought it might have been something he was reading."

"Great! Reading's great. Isn't reading great?" he grinned at me, and I raised my eyebrows.

"Erm, yeah," I stuttered. "Great for the mind, and adventures, and… and stuff." Personally, I didn't like reading.

The Doctor gave me a knowing smile, before turning back to the kid. "Do you like stories, George?" George nodded. "Yeah? Me too. When I was your age – about, ooh, a thousand years ago, I loved a good bedtime story, _The Three Little Sontarians, The Emperor Dalek's New Clothes, Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday_ , eh? All the classics."

I cleared my throat after receiving strange looks from Alex and George.

The Doctor shot a glance at me, before throwing the Rubik Cube at me. I swiftly caught it, and glared.

"Rubbish, it must be broken. I hate those things," he stuck his tongue out at me, and I rolled my eyes. "Better tidy it away though, eh?" He got up off the bed, and walked over to me, taking the toy from my hands. His fingers rested over mine a second longer than necessary, before taking it over to a cupboard. "How about in here?"

George gasped, and I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Doctor," I said softly, slowly walking over to take his place on the bed.

"No, no not in the cupboard," he agreed. "Why not in there, George?"

"It's a… thing," Alex spoke up. "A thing we got him doing, ages back. Anything that frightens him, we put in the cupboard. Creepy toys, scary pictures, that sort of thing."

George looked terrified, so I gently took his hand, and gave him a smile. "Is that where the monsters go?" I asked. He didn't answer, so I took that as a yes.

The Doctor was facing the cupboard, with a contemplating look on his face. "There's nothing to be scared of, George," he promised. "It's just a cupboard." The boy was shaking under the blankets, so I scooted closer to him.

The Doctors hands reached for the handle, and I found myself holding my breath.

I suddenly jumped when we could hear pounding on the door. I gave a shaky laugh at my nerves, and Alex went to answer it. We could hear Alex and who I presumed to be the landlord talking outside, and though the crack of the door, the guy did not seem friendly.

The Doctor looked over at George, before walking over and pulling out his screwdriver. It buzzed, and George sat up, his hands resting on my legs as he tried to get a better look. "Is that a torch?" he asked.

"Screwdriver," he smirked. "A sonic one." He jumped onto the bed next to me, and stared at the green light for a second. "And other stuff."

"Please, may I see the other stuff?" George asked, and I grinned.

"You may," the Doctor said, smiling at me. He pointed the screwdriver at a toy robot, and its head started to spin and make noise. "Pretty cool, eh?" The screwdriver continued to pulse, and soon every toy in the room was going off.

George had unconsciously climbed onto my lap as he studied everything.

"That's better," the Doctor mumbled, looking over George carefully. "No tears from George, that's what I've heard. Go on, give us a smile. There's a brave little soldier." He looked away for a second, but I could hear him mutter, "Bit rusty at this," under his breath. He caught my stare, and smiled. "Anyway. Let's open this cupboard, eh? There's nothing to be-"

The sonic made an eerie buzz, and I didn't need to hear the Doctors whispered 'off the scale's to know there was something wrong. He warily sat back down on the bed, and I hugged George to me.

"Right," Alex sighed, entering the room again, "sorry about that. So, have we got this thing open yet?" He reached out to the cupboard, but the Doctor leapt up, terrified.

"No. No, no, no, no!" he shouted. "You don't want to do that."

"Why?" Alex asked.

The Doctor didn't respond, but I didn't need him to. "Because," I started, "George's monsters are real."

Alex looked at us like we had lost our minds, and I wondered if he was right. Alex looked confused, and motioned for us to follow him. He led us to the kitchen, and the Doctor started raiding the cabinets.

"You're supposed to be professionals," he said. "I'll never get him to sleep now. You're so… irresponsible!"

The Doctor pulled out three cups, ignoring everything Alex was saying. "No, Alex, responsible, very. Well, Lily is. She has to keep me in check…" He grinned, and filled the cups with water. "But, cupboard bad, cupboard not bare. Stay away from cupboard, and there's something else, something I've missed, something staring me in the face."

"Look, I'd like you two to leave please; you're just making things worse." When the Doctor continued to make tea, I shrunk back as Alex charged over. "Will you stop making tea? I want you to leave!"

"No," the Doctor stated, looking offended.

"What? What do you mean, 'no'?" Alex asked. "Leave. Get out."

"Doctor, let's go," I said softly, pulling his arm.

Ignoring Alex and I both, he opened the fridge, but Alex slammed it close. "Now, please."

The Doctor stared at him menacingly, and I winced back.

"Look, maybe this was a bad idea," Alex tried, much calmer than before. "We should sort out George ourselves.

"Can't." The Doctor opened the fridge again, shoving a gallon of milk into my hands.

"No one's going to tell us how to run our lives," Alex pressed, following the Doctor around the kitchen, while I stood there, stunned. "I don't care who you are or what wheels have been set in motion, we'll sort it!"

The Doctor finally looked up, and took the milk from me. "I'm not just a professional, I'm the Doctor," he smiled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I stepped forward, curious about his answer.

"It means I've come a long way to get here, Alex, a very long way. George sent a message – a distress call, if you like. Whatever's inside that cupboard is terrible, so powerful, that it amplified the fears of a growing little boy across the barriers of time and space. Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire. Through empires of glass and civilizations of pure thought and a terrible, wonderful universe of impossibilities. You see these eyes? They're old eyes. And one thing I can tell you, Alex-" his eyes cut to me "-and Lily, you too… monsters are real."

Shocked, Alex and I both stood there for a few seconds, staring at the wonderful man.

"You're not from Social Services, are you?" Alex asked, and the Doctor smiled.

"First things first. You got any Jammie Dodgers?" The Doctor handed out tea to Alex and I, and I chuckled.

We made our way back to the sitting room, where the Doctor grabbed the album again. "What is it with these photos?" he asked himself. He was perched on a chair, while I sat with Alex on the sofa. "Anyway! Good, nice tea. Nothing like a cuppa. But decisions – should we open the cupboard?"

Alex spit his tea back into his cup, and I choked. "What?" Alex gasped.

"Didn't you just say there were monsters?" I asked.

"Exactly!" He spun around, grinning at me. "Should we? Got to open the cupboard, haven't we? Course we have, come on, you two! Lily, come on! How else will we ever find out what's going on here?"

"Are you insane?" I asked "Fifteen minutes ago, you were freaking out because the scans were off the scale, and now-"

"Off the scale, monsters, yeah, well, that's we do, breakfast dinner and tea." He paused, sizing me up. "Well, for you, it's sort of after school. Or during. Whenever I happen to pick you up. But, we fight the monsters, so this – _this_ – is just an average day at the office for us." He walked away, heading towards George's room while I stood there.

"Okay, yeah, you're right," Alex agreed, following.

"Or maybe we shouldn't open it," the Doctor back tracked, suddenly looking fearful. "We have no idea what might be in there. How powerful, how evil that thing might be."

"We don't?"

"Come on, Alex, Alex come on! Are you crazy? We can't open the cupboard!"

"Will you shut up?" I raised my voice, stepping in between the two.

"Right, my voice of reason, my perfect little voice." The Doctor cupped my face, the mad look in his eye slowly fading. We stared at each other for a moment, me trying to get sense into the man's head, and the Doctor looking torn. "Right! That settles it."

"Settles what?" Alex asked, confused.

The Doctor let me go, and reached down to pick up his tea cup, and took a long swig. He plopped it into my hands, grinning. "Going to open the cupboard." He dashed off again, and my eyes widened.

"That is not what your voice of reason was trying to tell you!" I shouted, and chased after him after slamming the cup into Alex's chest. After a second, I heard him get his bearings, and follow.

I caught the door before it could slam into the wall, and watched as the Doctor cracked his knuckles and neck. George hid behind his father, and I gripped onto the Doctors sleeve. His hand trailed down the door, and he flung it open, making me jump.

Nothing happened, and inside, I could see a few jackets, and several toys.

"I don't understand. It has to be the cupboard," he insisted, stepping away.

While he talked to himself, I stepped forward upon seeing an old doll house. I lightly touched the windows, admiring its beauty. I flipped through all the jackets, searching for anything unusual.

"Well of course not, Claire can't have kids!"

I jumped at Alex's sudden outburst, and looked up. Alex was in tears, and George seemed frightened.

"Say that again," the Doctor whispered, closing an album.

"We tried everything, she was desperate. As much IFV we could afford, but-" he stopped himself, and the Doctors face hardened. "Claire can't have kids. How? How could I have forgotten that?"

In sync, all our eyes traveled to George, who was sat on his bed.

"Who are you, George?" the Doctor asked.

"It's not possible. This isn't…," Alex trailed off.

"George?" I called, stepping forward.

Everything around us started to shake, and my head whipped around at every movement and sound. The cupboard behind me opened wide, and I felt as if I were being vacuumed up. I shrieked, grasping for the Doctors hand. He wrapped his arm around me, while still trying to grasp for an anchor of some sort.

I suddenly flew back, and felt like I was Alice, falling down the rabbit hole.

I landed with a thud, lying on my back on the floor, in between the Doctor and Alex. Immediately, the Doctor shot up, calling for George, but I stayed where I was.

What have I gotten myself into?

Alex started darting around, but I ignored both the men.

"You okay?" the Doctor finally asked me, and I glanced up to see him standing over me.

"Do I look like I'm okay?" I sighed, covering my face with my hands.

"Oh, come on," he chuckled, pulling me to my feet. "It's not as bad as last time, right?"

I smiled faintly. "I guess not."

"Where are we?" Alex asked, panicking.

"The doll house," I said, looking around. "We're in the doll house, the one that was in the cupboard – er, _is_ in the cupboard."

"Correct!" the Doctor cheered, and marched out of the room. Alex and I shared a look before chasing after him.

"Look, will you stop?" Alex called, cutting me off. "What is he? What is George? And how can I forget that Claire can't have kids? How?"

"Perception filter," the Doctor said simply. "Some kind of hugely powerful perception filter convinced you and Claire – everyone – made you change your memories. Now, what could do that?"

We continued down the hall, but a creaking stopped me. I turned, but didn't see anything unusual.

"Come along Pond!" the Doctor called, then stopped himself. "No, no, that's your mother. It doesn't quite fit you."

I rolled my eyes, and quickened my pace.

"So, Claire can't have kids, and something responded to that, responded to that need. What could do that?"

"Well, I thought you were the expert, fighting monsters all day long," Alex snapped. "You tell me!"

"Oi! Listen, Mush, old eyes, remember?" the Doctor reminded. "I've been around the block a few times, more than a few. They've knocked down the blocks I've been 'round and rebuilt them with bigger blocks, superblocks! I've been around them as well, I can't remember everything."

"Doctor," I whispered, looking around. I heard the creaking noise again, and the sound of an elevator, but he didn't listen.

Alex heard it too, but before either of us could say something else, the Doctor's head snapped up. "Sh, what's that?"

"It's the lift," Alex said softly, looking around. "It's the sound that the lift makes. George is scared stiff of it!"

It suddenly stopped, and we looked around. Alex became interested in some plastic candles, while the Doctor and I looked for something useful.

"So, it's usually like this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Chasing aliens and monsters? Getting locked up in doll houses?"

He grinned. "One time there was a werewolf," he chuckled. "Oh, you quite enjoyed that one. It was with-"

He stopped, staring at me. "Look, now you're making me give things away. No, no spoilers from me."

"What are you-"

"Five times," Alex spoke up, still staring at the candles. "The lights, it's happening five times. It's one of George's habits; we have to switch the lights on and off five times."

"Now you're getting it," the Doctor grinned, kneeling down next to him.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, and I sat cross legged across from them.

"What'd you tell George to do, Alex, with everything that scares him?"

"To put it in the…" he trailed off, his eyes widening.

"The cupboard," I finished in a whisper.

"Exactly; and George isn't just an ordinary little boy, we know that now, so anything scary, he puts in here." The Doctor waved his hand around as he explained. "Scary toys, like the doll house, scary noises, like the lift, even his little rituals have become part of it. A psychic repository for all his fears."

"But what is he?" I asked, twirling my hair. I froze when I saw movement behind the two men in front of me, but neither of them noticed. "Doctor," I whispered. "Doctor!"

"What?" he asked, and froze when the thing behind him laughed.

They turned around, and we gaped at the doll looking thing standing in the doorway.

The Doctor leapt up, pointing his screwdriver at it, but nothing happened.

"Gun!" Alex exclaimed. "You've got a gun!"

I struggled to my feet, and stood next to the Doctor. "It's not a gun," I huffed. "It's a screwdriver."

"Wood! I've got to invent a setting for wood, it's embarrassing!" the Doctor shouted.

"Wood? It doesn't work on _wood_?" I asked, hiding behind him.

"Oh, shut up," he pouted, and pulled me to a door on the other side of the room.

" _Don't run away_ ," the doll cried, " _we just want to play_."

We dashed out the door, looking for a way out.

"Massive psychic field, perfect perception filter, and that need of Claire's to – to-! Stupid Doctor!" He hit himself on the head as he continued to talk to himself.

A doll came through the doorway, and Alex tried to back away. "We could really go with a gun right about now," he growled.

"Gun… Gun! I have a gun!" I pulled out my hand guns, and took aim.

"No!" the Doctor shouted, gripping my wrists. "He's a Tenza!"

"A what?" we asked, forgetting about the killer doll.

"A cuckoo. A cuckoo in the nest." The Doctor ignored us, and ran away again, giving us no choice but to follow. "A Tenza. He's a Tenza!"

As I ran, I shot at the doll a few times, but missed.

The Doctor made it to a door at the end of the short hall, and opened it, only to slam it closed again. "Ah! Millions of them hatch in space and then, whoop, off they drift, looking for a nest. The young Tenza can sense exactly what their foster parents want and then they assimilate."

"George is an alien?" Alex asked.

"Yep!"

"But he's our child," Alex insisted.

"Of course he is," the Doctor agreed. "The child you always wanted, he sensed that instinctively and sought you out, but something scared him, started this cycle of fear." We climbed up a set of stairs, only to be cut off. "It's all completely instinctive, subconscious – George isn't even aware that he's controlling it. So we have to make him aware. George!"

I shot at the dolls again, but the plasma bullets only reflected off the wood. "Doctor, I don't think this is normal wood," I cried.

"Rory!" the Doctor exclaimed, and I looked up to see my father at the top of the stairs. "Where's Amy?"

He pointed to a doll, looking terrified, and my heart sank as I spotted the ginger doll.

We all huddled into a group, as the Doctor kept calling for George. I put my guns away, giving up, and not wanting to shoot at my own mother. The Doctors hand found mine, and I found myself holding onto it for dear life.

Everything suddenly stopped, and we looked around in relief and confusion.

We gasped for breath, and I spotted George on the main floor, looking up at us. "George," I whispered.

"You did it," the Doctor praised. "You did it. Hey, it's okay. It's all okay now. Everything's going to be fine."

The dolls started to move again, and I tugged the Doctor's hand nervously.

"No! No, no, no, no! George, you created this whole world. This whole thing, you can smash it. You can destroy it."

George shook his head 'no', and I turned to face the dolls. Rory and I faced the creatures while the Doctor and Alex talked, but we weren't listening. A moment later, I was almost thrown to the ground when Alex went running down the stairs. Rory caught me, though, and we watched as Alex hugged George to his chest.

The world around us became fuzzy, and a second later, I found myself standing back in George's room, with the Doctor, Alex, and the Tenza himself.

With a laugh, I hugged George. "You did it!" I told him, and turned to hug the Doctor who was smiling also.

We made our way to the kitchen, where we started searching for ingredients to make breakfast. We were all laughing and having a good time when a woman walked in the door.

"Hello!" I greeted, sneaking George a piece of chocolate I found in the fridge.

"Ah! Claire I expect!" the Doctor grinned. He walked over, and awkwardly kissed her on both cheeks. "How do you feel about kippers?"

I settled for a handshake, and grinned at her.

"Uh, who-"

"They sent someone," Alex interrupted, with a towel slung over his shoulder, "about George – it's all sorted."

"Yeah, we had a great time, didn't we?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah," George agreed, biting into a piece of toast.

"See, he's fine," I grinned, dabbing flour on his nose.

"What, just like that?" Claire asked.

"Yes. Trust me," the Doctor promised, and Claire grinned.

We soon finished breakfast, and the Doctor and I made for our departure. We were walking out the door when Alex called us back. "Doctor, Lily, wait!"

We spun around, and I smiled.

"Sorry, yes, bye!" the Doctor ginned. He shook hands with Alex, while the man was still trying to talk.

"No, you two can't just – I mean you-"

"It's sorted, you sorted it," the Doctor reminded. "Good man, Alex, proud of you."

"What, that's it?"

I had to admit, I was a little shocked that the Doctor would just up and leave like this.

"Well… apart from making sure he eats his greens and getting him into a good school, yes."

Alex looked like he was struggling for words. "Is he going to, I don't know, sprout another head or three eyes, or something?"

I furrowed my eyes at the picture inside my head.

"He's one of the Tenza, remember? He'll end up perfectly now," the Doctor promised. "Eh! Be whatever you want him to be." He grabbed my hand again, and we took off towards the elevator

"Bye!" I called over my shoulder and waving. "It was nice meeting you!"

"Oh! Might pop back around puberty, mind you," the Doctor shouted, "always a funny time." We continued on, and the Doctor slowed our pace a bit. "So; overall rating of the adventure?"

I laughed. "Well, at first, completely confusing. Then terrifying. But overall… I'd say a nine," I decided.

"A _nine_?" he asked, turning to face me. "That was a ten. At _least_ a ten."

I rolled my eyes at him as we entered the elevator. It only took a minute to meet back up with Rory and Amy, who were sitting on a brick wall waiting for us.

"Come on you two, people to see, whole civilizations to save," the Doctor called, clapping his hands. He sat in between them, and Amy pulled me over by her.

"Um, I think so," she sighed.

"Well, it's good to be all back together again, in the flesh." The Doctor hopped back up, and skipped towards the TARDIS. "Come on Lily, you have some busy days ahead of you."

I took a big breath, and Amy grinned at me, pulling towards the big blue box.

 _So, how was it?_ she asked in my mind.

I stopped and let everyone enter ahead of me. "Is it always like this?" I asked. "Always running, and dealing with aliens?"

I felt her melodic laugh in my mind, and I couldn't help but smile with her. _Oh yes_ , she promised. _It's always like this._

I grinned. "Then it's a good thing I don't mind."

"Lily! Are you coming or not?" the Doctor asked, sticking his head out the door. "Come on, you've got school tomorrow, and I won't be responsible for your education. It comes in handy every once in a while… make sure you pay attention when you go over World War II." He patted my head, and marched back to the consul.

"Why can't I stay?" I asked, mindlessly flipping a switch. The shaking stopped, and the Doctor glared.

"Oi! Don't touch her!" He swatted my hand, and flipped the switch back up. "And that's the rule, one trip at a time. You still have to meet past me, and future, I suppose… Don't forget to show me your ring so I can add the other stones." The TARDIS rumbled, and the sound of the time machine stopped. The Doctor grinned at me. "Tell me I said 'hi'. Oh, and before I forget!" He reached under the consul, and several things, such as a rubber duck, a few bowties, and what looked like a banana, flew into the air, almost hitting me. He reemerged with a bundle of clothes, and grinned. "These are the usual things I've seen you wear. Interesting choices, but I'm not complaining."

I raised my eyebrows, but silently took them. It seemed as if I was heading towards an interesting life.

I felt Amy wrap her arms around me, and I hugged her back, careful not to drop my new clothes. "Next time, we'll spend more time together, without me turning into a doll," she grinned. "Now give your father a hug."

I blushed, and Rory rolled his eyes, but we gave each other a tight squeeze anyway.

"Does this mean I have to call you Mom and Dad now?" I asked, tilting my head.

"No!" they both rushed.

"It'll be weird," Amy decided. "Now get going, you have school."

"Yes! School!" the Doctor exclaimed, grinning. "Make sure you pay attention to history, that's very important. And pay extra attention to World War II; that comes in handy. Wait. I said that already."

I scrunched my nose, but made my way to the door. I turned around, and faced the Doctor. "If I meet the past you, does that I mean I can't say anything about this? About what's happened?"

"Ah, Ponds, you created a genius," the Doctor praised. "You're exactly right. Not a word or things could go terribly wrong."

I nodded, and sighed. "See you… whenever, I guess." I stepped out the door, and found myself in my driveway, right next to my Jeep.

"We'll be seeing _you_ soon," the Doctor winked. "The question is when you'll be seeing us."

And then the door closed, and then with its beautiful noise, the TARDIS disappeared.


	4. The Long Game

_I tucked the guns into my belt, and turned around in time to witness Maldovar get beheaded by the headless monks._

 _With a strangled scream, I stumbled back, slamming into a wall behind me._

 _"The child," Vastra choked out. "At all cost, protect the child!"_

 _I swallowed hard, before pulling the two guns back out, and joining the others. I unlocked the safety, and took aim. The others disappeared around me, and the only thing I could see were the monks I was firing at. The fighting seemed to last for ages, when I suddenly heard a blood curdling scream from Amy. It seemed that with that cry, we all fought harder than before, and soon, there were several monks lying around us._

With a gasp, I sat straight up, holding onto my pillow with a death grip. My eyes darted around, taking in my surroundings. I was on the couch, where I had fallen asleep an hour before. The TV was on, playing reruns of _Full House_. I placed my head in my hands, and tried to slow my heartbeat.

It's been the same dream each night. I would wake up screaming, and Mom and Dad would come running in waving baseball bats. They were considering taking me back to the therapist, but I refused. I hadn't gone to a shrink since I was little. Besides, these dreams were different from back then. This, I know happened. I knew exactly what was going on. I can't explain that I was kidnapped by an alien to a person holding a clipboard.

I hadn't even gone to school the past two days. My entire choir had seen me with two guns on me – how would they react?

I hadn't heard from the Doctor since then. Or anyone, really, except for Alexia, who I ignored. I convinced my parents – adoptive parents – that I was sick, so they left me alone for the most part, other than to check on me, bring me food, or to wake me up from the nightmares.

It was now Friday, and I was starting to doubt the Doctor. Where was he?

I thought I heard the TARDIS outside, but I ignored it – I had been hearing it ever since the Doctor dropped me off the other day. It wasn't until there was a knock at the door that I shut my TV off, and ran to the door, almost falling on my face. I picked up the two guns on my way out – I didn't want to run into anymore creepy dolls or headless monks.

I was wearing an outfit that the Doctor gave me – a pink corset halter top and black pants, much like the ones that Vastra and Jenny helped me pick out. I wore my black boots, simply because I loved them, and found them extremely comfortable.

I finally flung the door open, grinning. "Doctor!" I exclaimed, but took a step back at the man in front of me. He had a leather jacket and dark pants, and his hair was nearly black, and closely cut. Beside him was a girl around my age, with blonde hair and wearing a red and black top. Behind her, was a guy with dark hair and looked a few years older than me, and he looked amazed. "Oh," I rushed. "Hello."

The man's jaw dropped, and the girl looked surprised as well. "You again," the guy sighed, scratching his head. "You weren't kidding, were you?"

"I'm sorry…?" I trailed off, and glanced around. In the driveway, like it never left, was the TARDIS. I grinned at the sight, and pushed past the three strangers, and bounded towards it. "Hello," I chirped, lightly touching the wood.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" the guy asked, marching up behind me. "Don't touch my TARDIS! Just because I let you inside a few times doesn't mean-"

" _Your_ TARDIS?" I asked. "No, this is the _Doctor's_ TARDIS. And you are _not_ him."

"What are you talking about?" the girl asked. "'Course it's him, who else would he be?"

"You're not the Doctor I know," I insisted. "How many Doctors are there?"

"One, just me," the guy insisted. "Last time I saw you, you were calm and knew almost everything. What happened?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Can anyone explain what's going on?" the guy asked, pulling his hair.

I smiled, and offered my hand. "I'm Lily," I introduced.

"We know that," the girl stated, ignoring my hand. "You introduced yourself a long time ago."

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking between the three. I turned back to the TARDIS, who still hadn't spoken. I placed my palm on the wood, and the sun caught my ring like fire. I studied it for a second, and then the Doctors words came back to me.

 _"Now, these two spaces here," he pointed at the two spaces on either side of the diamond, "are for when you meet other regenerations of me. Show me the ring, and I'll add the rest."_

"Regenerations," I murmured, and spun around. I showed the man my ring, and he looked confused.

"What happened to it? Did you lose the other sapphires?" he asked, taking my hand.

"I never got them," I told him. "The Doctor said that when I met the different regenerations of him, he said that he would add the rest. If you're really the Doctor, you'll add the rest."

"What's regeneration?" the younger guy asked, and I shrugged.

"You expect me to just add a sapphire?" the guy asked. "I've only met you twice in my life."

"And _if_ you're the Doctor, I've only met you twice as well," I snapped.

We glared at each other for a few moments, before he finally huffed. He reached into his pockets, and after a few moments, he pulled out a single sapphire. It was TARDIS blue, but had a cold feel to it. He placed the gem in its place, and then took out a stick with a blue tip and pressed a button. It buzzed like the sonic screwdriver, and I could hear the jewel lock into place.

I smiled at it, and nodded. "Alright, I believe you. Hello Doctor." I grinned, and before he could put his device away, I snatched it. "What's this?"

"It's my sonic screwdriver, obviously," he sighed, taking it back.

"No it's not," I laughed. "It's green."

"What are you talking about?" he snapped, and opened the door, motioning for the girl and boy to go in.

I ignored the Doctors question, and stepped in after them. I furrowed my eyebrows. "It's…"

"Bigger on the inside?" the Doctor finished. "You didn't seem surprised last time.

"No, I'm not surprised by that." I glared, and faced the coral beams and grated floor. "It's… different."

"Different how?" the blonde asked, and my gaze snapped to her.

"Sorry, I still don't know your name," I said, walking over.

"Rose, Rose Tyler, and this is Adam," she told me, tilting her head. "When we last saw you, you knew everything about us. How come you don't anymore?"

"Hmm," I hummed. "When I first met the Doctor, the other day, he knew absolutely everything about me. Well, I assume he did. He said something about our timelines being all messed up. Apparently, we never meet in the right order."

"Crossed timelines?" the Doctor asked, closing the door and joining Rose and me. "That explains quite a bit then."

"Why didn't future me explain this already?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Believe me, I asked," the Doctor huffed, marching over to the consul. "You laughed in my face."

"I think I do that a lot, actually," I confessed, thinking back to Demons Run with a shudder. "So if you don't know me that well, how did you end up at my house?"

 _That was me_ , the TARDIS said, and I smiled.

"I was wondering when I would hear from you," I chuckled, leaning against a beam.

"What?" Adam asked, looking confused.

 _I want answers. All of us do._

"I want answers, too," I replied. "But I'm not getting them."

"Who are you talking to?" the Doctor asked, and I snapped my eyes up to look at him.

"The TARDIS," I answered. "She brought you guys here. Something about answers, that I don't have. All I know is that future you says 'hi'."

"Future him?" Rose inquired. "So you _do_ know about the future?"

"I know what a Tenza is." I smiled, and folded my hands behind my back.

"A Tenza?" the Doctor asked, raising his eyebrows. "I haven't seen a Tenza for years."

"Well, I don't think I should say anything else on the matter… So, where are we off to this time?" I bounded over to the consul, grinning.

"You can't just come aboard and assume we're taking you somewhere," the Doctor said, looking grumpy.

"Well you seem to think that you can just show up and whisk me off to random places," I countered. "And I haven't gone to school since you popped up in the middle of choir. So don't expect any history lessons from me."

"You're still in school?" Rose asked, standing beside me. "How old are you?"

"Turning nineteen in September," I grinned. "My birthday fell late. And school lets out in three months... World War II," I snorted. "Don't expect that answer for a while."

"What are you talking about? No one brought up World War II." The Doctor finally started flipping switches, and I saw his eyes travel up to me a few times. "So, where to? Past or future?"

"How about Adam chooses," Rose smiled, putting a hand on the guys shoulder. He seemed a bit amazed at everything.

He stuttered a bit, and the Doctor rolled his eyes. "Future it is then." He whizzed around the consul, pressing buttons, and flipping switches.

"Your brakes are on again," I stated, spotting a green button.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, stopping to stare.

"Your brakes," I repeated. "And you're going too fast – you need to stabilize her." I didn't know how I knew this, but I did. It just sort of came to me. "A child of the TARDIS," I murmured.

"A child of the what?" the Doctor spluttered, and I snapped my head up.

"What? Sorry, nothing," I rushed.

"How do you know how to fly the TARDIS?" Rose asked.

"She doesn't," the Doctor glared. "She doesn't have a clue. There aren't any stabilizers, and the brakes are _not_ on."

"Well I don't want to be thrown into the next galaxy, so I'm holding down the stabilizers," I snapped, holding down three blue buttons.

"If we end up in the year 300 because you, I'm leaving you there," the Doctor swore.

"Is he always like this?" I asked Rose, as she stared at us in amusement.

"Only since you showed up," she said.

"And when was that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"About a week or two ago." She shrugged, and I felt the TARDIS land.

"You, stay here," the Doctor ordered, pointing at poor Adam, who looked like he was going to faint. He then motioned for Rose to follow, so with a shrugged, I skipped out the door.

Once out the doors, the Doctor grinned. "So it's 200,000, it's a spaceship – no wait a minute, space station, and uh, go and try the gate over there – off you go," he said, and crossed his arms as he leaned against the TARDIS.

 _He thinks he's so smart_ , the TARDIS grumbled, and I giggled.

"200,000?" Rose asked.

"200,000," he repeated, and Rose opened the door.

"So what's this?" I asked. "Are you helping with the first date or something?"

"Or something," he sighed, as Adam walked out.

He froze as he came out of the door, and he stared in awe.

"Don't worry, you get used to it," Rose promised.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Good question. Let's see," Rose pondered, as she looked around. "So, um… judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year 200,000. If you listen; engines. We're on some sort of space station. Yeah, definitely a space station."

"And it's hot," I grumbled, messing with my hair.

Rose nodded in agreement, and then her gaze traveled to the gate that the Doctor had pointed out. "Tell you what – let's try that gate, come on." She walked off, and Adam soon followed.

"You're kind of evil," I told the Doctor as he grinned after the blonde.

He nodded, and followed the young couple. We stayed a few steps back, and I could feel the Doctors eyes on me. "You said you were the child of the TARDIS?"

I bit my lip, and shrugged. " _A_. Not _the_ , a. And it's a long story, something you'll have to find out in the future, I guess."

We stepped into what looked like an observatory room, and through a window, I could see Earth.

"Here we go," Rose grinned. "And this is-" She paused, as she gazed at the planet. "I'll let the Doctor describe it."

"The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire," he stated. "And there it is – planet Earth, at its height. Covered with megacities, five moons, population 96 billion. The hub of a galactic domain, stretching across a million planets, a million species. With mankind right in the middle."

"Wow," I gasped. "I'm actually seeing Earth. I'm in _space_."

Adam fainted behind us, but we didn't turn.

"He's your boyfriend," the Doctor sneered.

"Not anymore," Rose sighed, shaking her head.

I laughed, finally turning to see the poor guy on the ground. I lightly kicked him, trying to get him to wake up. Rose kneeled down and slapped him a few times, until he finally came to.

"So how come whenever I first met you, you didn't take me to a place like this?" I asked, facing the Doctor.

"Maybe I didn't think you were worth the time," he said, still looking forward.

"Ouch," I laughed. "You're definitely a change, aren't you?"

He glared for a moment before sighing. "You can't blame me," he defended himself. "You suddenly pop up out of nowhere, calling Rose and me weird names, like you've known us all your life. And you just… _know_ so many things. Things a human shouldn't know." He paused, staring at me. "But that's the thing – you aren't human. You're part Time Lord. How?"

"I really _can't_ say," I told him. "You told me not to. Your rules, not mine."

We stared at each other for a moment, before he sighed, and turned around to face the now awake Adam. "Have a nice nap?" he asked, smirking. "Come on, let's go."

We made it out of the observatory room, and made our way into a giant, empty room.

"Come on, Adam. Open your mind," the Doctor urged. "You're gonna like this fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics, this era has got fine food, good manners-"

"Out of the way!" a man shouted, shoulder checking me.

I glared, and stuck my foot out, making him trip. "You were saying?" I scowled, as a mass of people came out of nowhere.

A vendor opened up shop, and a flock of people swarmed up to him, demanding food.

"Fine cuisine?" Rose asked, staring at the menu of greasy foods.

"My watch must be wrong," the Doctor said, checking his wrist. "No, it's fine. That's weird."

"That's what comes with showing off," Rose smirked. "Your history's not as good as you thought it was."

"My history's perfect," the Doctor snapped, staring around and looking confused.

I snorted, and shared a look with Rose. "Obviously not," I whispered to her, and we grinned.

"They're all human, what about the millions of planets, the millions of species, where are they?" Adam asked, looking around.

"Good question…," the Doctor trailed. "Actually, that is a good question. Adam, me old mate, you must be starving." The Doctor wrapped his arm around Adams shoulder, and I raised my eyebrow.

"No, just a bit time sick," he sighed.

"No, you just need a bit of grub," the Doctor assured. He then turned to the vender, and smiled. "Oi, mate – how much is a Cronk Burger?"

"Two credits twenty, sweetheart," the vender sighed, looking annoyed. "Now, join the queue."

The Doctor nodded. "Money – we need money." He marched away, digging through his pockets. "Let's use a cashpoint."

He stopped at a machine, and pulled out his sonic. Glancing around, he held the screwdriver to the screen, and a little bar like thing plopped out.

"Here you go," he grinned, giving the bar to Adam. "Pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets."

I looked up, examining everything around me, and when I came back to focus, I saw the Doctor had started to walk away.

"How does it work?" Adam called.

"Go and find out, stop nagging me," the Doctor whined. "The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book; you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me?"

I laughed at this, remembering when the Doctor first barged into my life.

The Doctor shook his head as if to clear it. "Stop asking questions. Go on, do it. Off you go, then. You're fist date."

Rose looked back, trying not to laugh. "You're going to get a smacked, you are," she chuckled, before walking away.

"So what am I supposed to do?" I asked. I was used to the Doctor taking my hand all the time, and leading me to places without anyone else. This Doctor was different. He seemed to want to stay away.

"Do whatever, I suppose," he said, leaning against a wall. "What do you usually do?"

I paused, and shrugged. "Get dragged around by you," I told him. "You're possessive."

He raised his eyebrows, before rolling his eyes. "Alright then… guess you're sticking with me. Maybe you'll answer some of my questions."

"No promises," I smirked, and skipped alongside of him.

"Where you from?" he asked.

I glanced up at him. "Illinois, the United States," I said.

"Illinois? That's boring, isn't it?" The Doctor scanned the nearby area, but didn't look satisfied by the results.

I shrugged. "Home of _Popeye: the Sailor Man_."

"Yeah, but that's just a show on telly," he rolled his eyes.

"Well it's something," I snapped.

Two women walked by, and the Doctor stopped them. "Uh, this is going to sound daft, but can you tell me where I am?" he asked.

"Floor 139," the taller of the two answered. She had dark skin, and her hair was in nice, sophisticated braids. "Could they write it any bigger?"

"Floor 139?" I repeated, staring at the numbers on the wall. "Of what, exactly?"

"Must've been a hell of a party," she sneered.

"You're on satellite five," the shorter one rushed. She had auburn hair, and seemed nervous.

"What's satellite five?" the Doctor asked.

"Come on, how could you get on board without knowing where you are?" the taller one asked.

"Look at him, he's stupid," I stated, pointing at the Doctor who looked offended.

"Hang on, wait a minute – are you a test?" the short one asked. "Some sort of management test kind of thing?"

The Doctor nodded, pulling out his psychic paper. "You got me. Well done. You're too clever for me."

"We were warned about this in basic training," the girl continued. "All workers have to be versed in company promotion."

"Right," the taller one stated, looking interested. "Fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to Floor 500, I'll do anything."

"What's Floor 500?" I asked, and received a nudge from the Doctor.

"The walls are made of gold," she stated, looking at me like I was stupid. "And you should know, Miss Management." She batted her eyelashes. "So, this is what we do – latest news, sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago, 200 dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day. Spacelane 77 closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf Channel, The Face of Boe has just announced he's pregnant."

"I get it – you broadcast the news," the Doctor sighed.

"We _are_ the news," the girl scoffed. "We're the journalists. We write it, package it, and sell it. Six hundred channels, all come out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere. Nothing happens in the whole Human Empire without it going through us."

"Busy days," I sighed.

An alarm of some sort went off, and the Doctor went to get Rose and Adam while I waited with the two ladies. When they came back, I introduced them to the women, and then we were led to one of the broadcasting rooms.

"Now, everyone behave," the woman ordered. "We have a management inspection. How do you want it – do you want it by the book?"

"Oh, right from scratch, thanks," the Doctor grinned.

"Okay, so, ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided, or robot – my name is Cathica Santini Khadeni." She turned to us, and smiled. "That's Cathica with a 'C', in case you want to write to Floor 500 praising me, and please do. Now, please feel free to ask any questions, the process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That's company policy."

"Actually," the second lady from earlier piped up, "um, it's the law."

"Yes, thank you, Suki." Cathica glared. "Okay, keep it calm, don't show off for the guests… Here we go." Cathica sat down in her chair and leaned back. "And engage safety."

Immediately, everyone stuck out their hands, and placed them on the pads in front of them. Lights came on all around the room, and I jumped at the sudden brightness.

Cathica snapped her fingers, and her forehead opened up to reveal her brain. I gaped in amazement, and felt like I could faint, like Adam.

"And three… two… and spike." A stream of light made its way to Cathica's head, flowing into her brain.

"Compressed information streaming into her," the Doctor explained. "Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software – her brains the computer."

"If it all goes through her, she must be like a genius," Rose commented.

"No," I said softly. "It's like that new Indiana Jones movie that came out a while back. If all that information stuck in her head, her brain would explode. Just like-"

"Oi," the Doctor interrupted. "Don't spoil the movie. They're from 2005, that movie doesn't come out until 2008."

I rolled my eyes. "Sorry then," I huffed.

"But you are right. She wouldn't remember any of it," the Doctor stated, walking around to get a better look. "The brains the processor; soon as it closes, she forgets."

"So, what about all these people 'round the edge?" Rose asked, pointing to the motionless people.

"They've all got tiny little chips in their head," the Doctor said, "connecting them to her and they transmit 600 channels. Every single fact in the empire beams out to this place. Now that's what I call power."

"You alright there, Adam?" I smirked, leaning against the rail.

"I can see her brain," he stuttered.

"Do you wanna get out?" Rose asked, coming up beside me.

"No, no," Adam rushed. "This technology it's – it's amazing."

"This technology's wrong," the Doctor stated, staring off into space.

"Trouble?" Rose asked knowingly.

"Oh, yeah." He grinned, and Rose looked excited.

"More trouble," I sighed. "Great."

Everything suddenly went dark, and the light stream stopped in its place. Cathica sat up as if she just woke up from a dream, and looked peeved.

"Come off it, Suki, I wasn't even halfway," she complained. "What was that for?"

"Sorry," Suki apologized. "Must've been a glitch."

There was the sound of an electronic doorbell, and a mechanical voice came on over the intercom.

"Promotion," it said, and a blue screen appeared on the wall.

Cathica started to pray, and jump and down.

"Promotion for," the voice drawled, "Suki Macrae Cantrell. Please proceed to Floor 500.

"I don't believe it," Suki gasped. "Floor 500."

"How the hell did you manage that?" Cathica asked, looking upset. "I'm above you!"

"I don't know, I just applied on the off-chance," Suki said. "And they said yes!"

"So not fair," Cathica carried on. "I've been applying to Floor 500 for three years."

"What's Floor 500?" Rose asked.

"The walls are made of gold," the Doctor and I said in sync.

 **}*{**

"Cathica, I'm gonna miss you," Suki cried, giving Cathica a hug. "Floor 500, thank you." She grinned at the Doctor.

"I didn't do anything," he insisted.

"Well, you're my lucky charm," she gushed.

"Alright," he shrugged. "I'll hug anyone."

They embraced, and Suki was giggling. She then turned to me, and grabbed my hand giving it a tight squeeze.

"Oh my god, I've got to go. I can't keep them waiting," she exclaimed. "I'm sorry!" She ran away, calling over her shoulder, and gripping tight to her bag. When she stepped into the elevator, she looked back, grinning. "Say goodbye to Steve for me! Bye!"

When the doors closed, Cathica dropped her smile. "Good riddance," she muttered.

"You're talking like you'll never see her again," the Doctor said with his arms crossed. "She's only going upstairs.

"We won't," Cathica stated. "Once you go to Floor 500, you never come back."

I shared a look with Rose, and bit my lip. Adam had already left to clear his head, and none of us were really missing him.

"Have you ever been up there?" the Doctor asked, as we walked around the big room with all the venders.

"Can't – you need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion," Cathica told us, sounding annoyed. "No one gets to 500 except for the chosen few."

"Sounds fun," I grinned.

The Doctor decided he wanted another look at the broadcast room, but wouldn't tell Rose or me why.

"Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance; can't you give it a rest?" Cathica asked, as we stepped in.

"But you've never been to another floor," the Doctor pressed, "not even one floor down." He sat down in the center chair, and made himself comfortable. Rose and I leaned against the chair, and I crossed my arms.

"I went to Floor 16 when I first arrived," Cathica stated. "That's medical, that's where I got my head done, and then I – I came straight here. Satellite Five – you work, eat, and sleep on the same floor – and that's it, that's all."

We stared at her in bewilderment.

"You're not from management, are you?" she asked.

"At last, she's clever," the Doctor scoffed.

She blinked a couple of times. "Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me, I don't know anything."

"Don't you ever ask?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, why would I?" Cathica asked.

"You're a journalist." The Doctor suddenly looked down, looking interesting in the arm of the chair. "Why's all the crew human?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"There's no aliens onboard – why?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know, no real reason," Cathica sighed. "They're not banned or anything.

"Then where are they?" he repeated.

After a pause, she finally shook her head. "I suppose migration's tightened up. It's had to, what with all the threats."

"What threats?"

"I don't know – all of them," she stuttered. "Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled, so that kept the visitors away. Oh, and the government on Traffic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Just lots of little reasons, that's all."

"Adding up to one great bit fact and you didn't even notice," the Doctor stated.

"Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it," Cathica said, looking more determined.

"I can see better. This society's the wrong shape, even the technology."

"It's cutting edge-"

"It's backwards!" the Doctor interrupted. "There's a great big door in your head. You should've chucked this out years ago."

"So what do you think's going on?" Rose asked.

"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude. It's the way people think," he explained. "The Great and Bountiful Human Empire stunted – something's holding it back."

"And how would you know?" Cathica challenged.

"Trust me," he told her. "Humanity's been set back about ninety years. When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"

"Ninety-one years ago," she said, looking as if she was grasping everything.

I smiled. "I don't know about you guys," I started, "but I think I'm ready for my promotion." I grinned, and grabbed Rose's hand, pulling her out of the room with the Doctor and Cathica right behind us.

"You can't just barge in and act like you control everything," the Doctor called, chasing after us.

"You do," I laughed, stopping next to an electric box.

The Doctor skidded to a stop beside us, and pulled out his sonic. "That's different," he insisted. "I know what I'm doing." He opened up the box and sonicked the screen to get information.

"Just like you know how to fly the TARDIS?" I teased, smirking.

"Oi! I do know how to fly her!"

"You fly her with her brakes on!" I hissed. "You didn't know about the stabilizers. Shall I go on?"

He glared while Rose laughed at him.

"We're _so_ gonna get in trouble," Cathica muttered, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, we'll get told off."

"Rose, tell her to button it," the Doctor sighed.

"You can't just vandalize the place, someone's gonna notice," she insisted.

"Just like they noticed everything else?" I snickered.

When the screens sparked, Cathica jumped back, and put her hands down in defeat. "This is nothing to do with me. I'm going back to work."

"Go on then," the Doctor called, not even looking up. "See ya."

She made it five steps, before turning back. "I can't just leave you, can I?"

"If you want to be useful, get them to turn the heating down," Rose snapped. "It's boiling. What's wrong with this place, can't they do something about it?"

"I don't know, we keep asking," Cathica sighed. "Something to do with the turbine."

"'Something to do with the turbine,'" the Doctor mocked.

"Well, I don't know!" she exclaimed.

"Exactly, I give up on you, Cathica," the Doctor stated. "Now, Rose – look at Rose. Rose is asking the right kind of questions. Why is it so hot?"

"One minute, you're worried about the empire, and the next minute, it's the central heating," Cathica groaned.

"Well, never underestimate plumbing," he insisted. "Plumbing's very important." He pulled on some wire, and accidently pulling them out of the wall. "Here we go," he grinned, spinning the screen to face us. "Satellite Five, pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout."

"This is ridiculous," Cathica murmured. "You've got access to the computer's core. You could look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange – and you're looking at pipes?"

"But there's something wrong," the Doctor pointed out.

"I suppose," she agreed, turning back to the screen.

"What is it?" I asked, stepping closer.

"The ventilation system," Cathica said, slightly turning. "Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out. Channeling massive amounts of heat down."

"All the way from the top."

"Floor 500," Rose stated.

"Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat," the Doctor nodded.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like we're missing a party," Rose smiled. "It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?"

"You can't, you need a key," Cathica insisted.

"Keys are just codes, and I've got the codes right here," the Doctor pointed out. "Here we go – override 215.9."

"How come it's giving _you_ the code?" Cathica asked.

"Someone up there likes me."

"I've always wanted a promotion," I grinned. "Let's go see those walls of gold."

We walked to the elevator, with Cathica cautiously following behind. When we stepped in, she froze.

"Come on, come with us," Rose called.

"No way." She shook her head, and glanced around.

" Bye!" the Doctor called, before closing the door.

"Well don't mention my name," she called. "When you get in trouble, just don't involve me."

"That's her gone," the Doctor grinned as the doors slammed. "Adams given up. Looks like it's just us three."

We grinned, and I could feel the elevator rising.

"So, how am I doing so far?" I asked, leaning against the wall. "I haven't freaked out. Haven't passed out. I haven't even pulled out the plasma guns."

"You've never freaked out before," Rose said. "Well, except for when we went to-"

"Rose," the Doctor interrupted, shaking his head. "We can't say anything about what's happed in the past, because it's still in her future. Just like she can't tell us what's happened to her."

"That's not fair," I huffed.

"You're rules," he shrugged.

"No they aren't. They're yours," I said.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.

"The walls are not made of gold," the Doctor sighed, looking around.

Everything was covered in frost, and I could see my breath.

"You should go back downstairs," he suggested, but Rose and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Tough," she shrugged, and walked past him.

"I'm used to you dragging me everywhere," I said, stepping up next to him. "It's different, you telling me to _go away_." Then I smiled before following Rose.

We wandered around for a bit, before finding a control room with six people sat in chairs, and a pale, blonde man standing behind them. Without turning, the man sighed.

"I started without you," he chuckled, and finally turned to face us. "This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire – birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements. But you three – you don't exist." He chuckled again. "There's not a trace – no birth, no job. Not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?"

"Suki!" Rose suddenly exclaimed, and my eyes darted to the auburn haired girl sitting at a computer screen. "Hello? Can you hear me? Suki! What have you done to her?"

"I think she's dead," the Doctor stated.

"But she's working," I noticed.

"They've all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going, like puppets." The Doctor crossed his arms.

"Oh!" the strange man exclaimed. "You're full of information. But it's only fair we get some information back, because apparently, you're no one." He chuckled. "It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter, 'cause we're off," the Doctor told him, and my eyes snapped up. "Nice to meet you. Come on."

He turned to leave, but two of the men sitting at the computers stood up and grabbed him. Suki gripped Rose's arm, and another man locked my hands together behind my back.

"Tell me who you are," the man insisted.

"Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly gonna say, am I?" the Doctor asked, struggling.

I felt the guy who was holding me take my guns away. "Hey!" I shouted, trying to yank free.

The blonde man took my guns, and fumbled with them. "Well, perhaps my editor-in-chief can convince you otherwise.

"And who's that?"

The man looked over his shoulder, almost like he was afraid of being overheard. "It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place humans happen to live."

Something snarled above me, and I froze, looking up.

The man put his hand to his ear, and he nodded. "Sorry. It's a place where humans are _allowed_ to live, by kind permission of my client." He then snapped, and pointed upwards, showing the thing I had already spotted.

It was a mass of slime and goop, with no eyes, but a clear shape of a head, and long, pointed teeth. It snapped and roared, and I tried harder to break free.

"What is that?" Rose asked.

"You mean that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" the Doctor asked.

"That 'thing' as you put it, is in charge of the human race," the man corrected. "For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided. His knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its broadcast news, edited by my superior, your master, and humanity's guiding light – the mighty Jagrafess of the holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe." He grinned. "I call him 'Max.'"

We were put in weird handcuff like things, and as much as I tried, I couldn't even twist my wrists around.

"If we create a climate of fear, then it's easy to keep the border closed," the man explained. "It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilize an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote."

"So all the people on Earth are, like, slaves," Rose concluded.

"Well, now, there's an interesting point," the man shrugged. "Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?"

"Yes," I stated, nodding.

"Oh, I was hoping for a philosophical debate," the man pouted. "Is that all I'm going to get, 'yes'?

"Yes," the Doctor said, raising his eyebrows.

The man laughed. "You're no fun."

"Let me out of these manacles, you'll find out how much fun I am," the Doctor threatened.

"Oh, he's tough, isn't he?" the man chuckled. "But, come on, isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it – just a little bit."

"You can't hide something on this scale," Rose thought aloud. "Somebody must've noticed."

"From time to time, someone yes, but the computer chip system allows me to see inside their brains," he shrugged. "I can see the smallest doubt and crush it. And then they just carry on, living the life – strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're so individual, when, of course, they're not – they're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."

"What about you?" I asked. "You're not a Jagrafess. You're human."

"Yeah, well, simply being human doesn't pay very well," he said.

"But you couldn't have done this all on your own," Rose pointed out.

"No," the man laughed. "I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little help to, um – install himself."

"No wonder, creature that big," the Doctor commented, looking up. "What's his life span?"

"Three thousand years," the guy answered.

"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat. That's why Satellite Five's so hot." The Doctor looked away from the massive beast. "You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs – Jagrafess stays cool, stays alive. Satellite Five is one great big life support system."

"But that's why you're so dangerous," the man pointed out. "Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown." He chuckled, before snapping his fingers.

The cuffs sent a shock through our wrists, and I cried out in pain.

"Who are you?" the man demanded.

"Leave them alone," the Doctor ordered, motioning to Rose and me. "I'm the Doctor, the blonde is Rose Tyler, and Miss Frizz is Lily Sikes."

"Hey!" I shouted, glaring at him.

He ignored me, and continued. "We're nothing, we're… just wandering."

"Tell me who you are," the man repeated.

"I just said."

"Yeah, but who do you work for, who sent you?" he pressed. "Who knows about us? Who, exactly?" He suddenly stopped, and grinned. "Time Lord," he stated.

"What?" the Doctor asked, and I froze, staring at him.

"Oh, yes! The last of the Time Lords and his traveling machine," the guy continued. "Oh, with his little human girls from long ago." He gently touched Rose's face, and she flinched back.

"Don't know what you're talking about," the Doctor rushed.

"Time travel," he growled, playing with the ends of my hair.

"Someone's been telling you lies," the Doctor insisted.

"Young master Adam Mitchell," the guy smiled. He snapped his fingers, and a video of Adam lying on a chair popped up. He was screaming as a stream of light ran from his head.

"Oh my god – his head," Rose observed.

"What the hell's he done?" the Doctor asked. "What the hell's he gone and done? They're reading his mind. He's telling them everything."

"Well why the hell did you tell him everything?" I asked.

"Why the hell didn't you stop us?" he shouted back.

The blonde guy grinned. "And through him, I know everything about you. Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The human empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S – TARDIS."

"Well, you'll never get your hands on it – I'll die first," the Doctor snapped.

"Die all you like," the guy shrugged. "I don't need you – I've got the key."

On the screen, a key was pulled out of Adam's pocket. My eyes widened.

"You and your boyfriends," the Doctor scolded Rose.

"It's not like you could fly it anyway," I told him. "Big, complicated machine like her – it would take you a century just to figure out how to turn the lights on."

"But you, Dear, know exactly everything about it," he smiled, and walked towards me. "A child of the TARDIS. You could fly the machine anywhere you'd like, and anywhere we would like if we used the right methods. Today, we are the headlines. We can rewrite history. We can prevent mankind from ever developing."

"And no one's gonna stop you. Because you've bred a human race which doesn't bother to ask questions, stupid little slaves. Believing every lie." The Doctor carried on, while the blonde man continued to play with my hair.

I glared, but didn't flinch back.

"They'll just trot right into the slaughterhouse if they're told it's made of gold."

I glanced at him in confusion. What was he doing?

Alarms started to sound, and the man left me, looking at all the computer screens, trying to find out what was going on. "Someone's disengaged the safety." He snapped his fingers, and the screen changed to show Cathica sitting on a chair, with the light stream.

"It's Cathica," Rose stated, smiling.

"And she's thinking," the Doctor added with a grin. "She's using what she knows. Everything I told her about Satellite Five – the pipes, the filters – she's reversing it. Look at that, it's getting hot."

I turned my head to see that the icicles on the ceiling were starting to melt at a rapid pace. Everything started to spark and flare and the people at the desk collapsed. Rose's handcuffs undid themselves, and she rushed to grab the Doctors sonic.

"She's venting the heat up here," the Doctor explained, as Rose undid his chains. "The Jagrafess needs to stay cool, and now it's sitting on top of a volcano." He laughed as he finally broke out of his chains. He took the sonic from Rose, and rushed over to me.

"I'm so slapping you for that Miss Frizz comment," I growled, as I was able to move away from my prison.

"Later," he stated, rolling his eyes.

I rushed over to the blonde man, and hit him upside the head, before taking my pistols back. "These things saved mine and my mother's life," I growled. "You are _not_ taking these away."

I felt the Doctor grab my hand, and I was suddenly being pulled out of the room. We easily found Cathica, and the Doctor snapped his fingers to stop the information flow. When she opened her eyes, I helped her to her feet, and we cautiously made our way back downstairs.

When the elevator doors opened, we saw a huge mess, with people stumbling around.

"We're just gonna go," the Doctor told us. "I hate tidying up. Too many questions; you'll manage."

"You'll have to stay and explain it. No one's gonna believe me," Cathica insisted.

"Oh, they might start believing a lot of things now," the Doctor assured. "The human race should accelerate, all back to normal."

"What about your friend?" she asked, motioning to Adam, who was standing next to the TARDIS.

"He's not my friend," the Doctor stated.

I stayed where I was as the Doctor marched up to the poor guy. Rose and I shared a look before chasing after him.

Adam kept saying things, but the Doctor just grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him inside.

The trip was silent – I didn't even bring up the brakes or stabilizers. When the trembling stopped, the Doctor pushed Adam out the door.

"It's my house," Adam gasped, looking around. "I'm home."

I stepped out behind Rose, and looked around at the modern sitting room.

"Blimey, I thought you were gonna chuck me out of an airlock," he joked.

"Is there something else you wanna tell me?" the Doctor asked.

"No, um – what do you mean?" Adam rushed.

The Doctor went over to a phone and picked it up. "The archive of Satellite Five; one second of that message could've changed the world." He slammed it back down, and pointed the sonic screwdriver at it. In seconds, it blew up, and Rose and I jumped back. "That's it, then. See ya."

"How do you mean, 'see ya'?" Adam asked.

"As in goodbye."

"But what about me?" he asked. "You can't just go, I've got my head – I've got a chip type two – my head opens."

"That sucks," I stated, and snapped my fingers.

Immediately, his head opened up to show his brain.

"Don't," he growled, and snapped his fingers so that his head closed.

"Don't do what?" the Doctor asked innocently, and snapped his own fingers.

Adams head opened again. "Stop it!" he demanded, snapping his fingers.

"All right now, Doctor, Lily, that's enough. Stop it," Rose ordered.

"Thank you," Adam smiled, bur Rose just snapped her fingers.

"Oi," he protested, and Rose laughed.

"Sorry, just couldn't resist," she giggled.

Adam snapped his fingers once more.

"The whole of history could've changed because of you," the Doctor stated.

"I just wanted to help," Adam insisted.

"You were helping yourself," the Doctor corrected.

"And… I'm sorry, and I've said I'm sorry," Adam said. "And I am, I really am but – you can't just leave me like this."

"Yes, I can, because if you show that head to anyone, they'll dissect you in seconds," the Doctor stated. "You'll have to live a very quiet life – keep out of trouble. Be average, unseen – good luck." He opened the TARDIS door, and started to walk in.

"But I want to come with you," Adam called.

"I only take the best," the Doctor shrugged. "I've got Rose, and sometimes Lily."

"I'm still going to slap him," I whispered to Rose, before walking in after the alien man.

A moment later, Rose stepped in also.

"Alright, where to next?" the Doctor asked, grinning.

I was amazed at his mood swing. "Home," I told him. "Like you said: one trip at a time for me. I'm about like Adam, I suppose. I can't handle this on a daily bases."

"You're really gonna go?" Rose asked.

I nodded. "According to the Doctor, I have a lot of big days heading my way. Besides, my parents are with future him – and he's not as responsible." I smirked. "I'm your 'voice of reason' as you put it. I have a job to do."

"You're parents are with future him?" Rose repeated, looking panicky. "Where am I?"

I shrugged. "Probably around there somewhere," I sighed. "The first time I met him, he had a TARDIS full of people. The next time, nowhere to be found."

"You're giving things away," the Doctor stated, glancing up at me as he landed the TARDIS.

I smiled. "Guess so." I gave Rose a hug, but hesitated when I get to the Doctor. Finally, I just wrapped my arms around his torso for a second, before pulling away. "Don't think you're getting away with the Frizz thing. I'll just get you back next time I see you."

With a final wave, I bounded out of the TARDIS. I watched as it disappeared from my driveway, before sighing and stepping into my house.

The clock read four o'clock, which meant my dad would be walking through the door any second. Exhausted, I made myself a bowl of cereal, and plopped onto the couch.

The only thing going through my mind was thoughts of the Doctor.


	5. Vampires of Venice

It had been a week and a half since I last saw the Doctor. The nightmares continued, and they intensified with each night. The rumors had already spread about what had happened on the day that the Doctor first arrived – but the truth was twisted. They were fake guns, or it was just a giant prank. 'The Band had converted me', according to my choir.

It was Wednesday, and I was wearing white, stretchy pants and a black corset top (courtesy of the Doctor), and my boots. My guns were in my bag, and I prayed that no one would randomly decide to go searching through it.

There were five minutes left of third hour when I heard it – it was quiet and faint, and I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't heard it before. I sharply looked up from my pre-calc. test, and stared ahead with wide eyes.

"Miss Sikes, is everything okay?" my teacher, Mrs. Wentz, asked, causing several eyes to fall on me.

"Um…" I glanced at the clock – four minutes. "I'm fine, thank you." I quickly scribbled the last few answers, and jumped up to hand in my test.

Mrs. Wentz was cool. She was the kind of teacher that didn't really care about the rules of the school, and thought that if you finished a test early, you should be let out early.

Which is exactly what I did.

I grabbed my bag, and calmly walked out the door, before sprinting down the hall. I jumped down the small flight of stairs, and dashed out the side doors, leading to the student parking lot and football field. By now, the TARDIS noise had stopped, so I was at a loss as to where to go from here.

I sprinted to the football field – if nothing else, I could climb the bleachers and try to get a better look from there. Once I climbed the fence however, and landed with a soft _thud_ on the concrete, I froze.

There, in the middle of the bright green football field, was the blue box itself. Rolling my eyes, I ran across the grass, and swung the door open.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked the bow tied man in front of me. "Do you have any idea where you are?"

"Of course I do," he stated, looking offended, and fixing his bowtie. "The fourteenth of March, 2011-"

"No, not _when_ ," I interrupted. " _Where_."

"In the woods behind your school, like always," he stated.

I shook my head. "You're in the middle of the football field! The bell's going to ring in like two minutes, and then people will be out here wondering what a strange box is doing here."

He furrowed his eyebrows, and walked past me. "When did you get a football field?" he asked, and opened the door. "Oh! _American_ football. You know, you should really change that, it confuses the rest of the world."

I gave a short laugh, before turning around, and bumping into Rory. "Oh! Sorry," I apologized.

"Um, hi," he stuttered, staring at me like I had three heads. "Um… we just saw you. Five minutes ago. And you weren't wearing that."

I raised my eyebrows, and the Doctor walked past me. "Rory, this is a different Lily than the one we just dropped off. Different outfit, different memories." He flipped a switch, and I felt the TARDIS move. "Lily, have you met Amy and Rory yet?"

"Er – yeah," I said, gazing around the TARDIS. It was like it was the first time I stepped in – the crazy consul and all. "Why did you change it?" I asked.

"Change what?" he asked, as Amy came down the stairs.

"The TARDIS," I said. "Why did you change it? And your screwdriver, it was green, then it was blue. Where's Rose?"

He froze his hand over a switch, and he didn't look at me.

Amy and Rory were silent, but I didn't pay them much attention. I wanted answers, and I didn't like being in the dark.

"Still early in the relationship. Very early in the relationship," he muttered, and finally snapped his gaze to meet mine. "Things happen, Lily, and you'll be there to see all of it. But I can't tell you. For various reasons, I can't tell you."

I narrowed my eyes, before huffing. "Fine." I turned on my heel, and opened the door, only to face a view of space. I groaned, and turned back around. "I have another test next period, so I need to get back," I stated.

"Lily, please stay," the Doctor begged, rushing over, and grabbing my hand. "I went through this too, you know, when I first met you. I would always ask questions, and you would never answer. Please."

I sighed, and looked away. I thought back to Satellite Five, and how I couldn't answer anything, either because I didn't know, or I wasn't allowed to tell. "Alright," I finally said, and then glared at him.

"What?" he asked, and I slapped him. "Oi! What was that for? What did I do this time?"

Amy's hand flew up to cover her laughter, but I continued to glare. "Don't you ever call me Miss Frizz again, got it? And stop being so rude."

He held his face, and his jaw dropped. "I haven't done that in years!" he complained. "And you've already slapped me for it!"

"Well it was the other week for me," I snapped. "And I haven't seen you since then."

"Miss Frizz?" Amy repeated.

I turned to her and smiled. "Hello, Amy," I greeted, walking over and giving her and Rory a hug. "Have I met you guys yet?"

"What do you mean?" Rory asked.

"No, you haven't," the Doctor rushed. "So, when did you last see me?"

"You you, or you leather jacket you?" I tilted my head, and raised an eyebrow.

"You in a leather jacket?" Amy scoffed. "That's something I'd love to see."

The Doctor ignored her. "Me in general. And just the leather jacket?" He fumbled with his bowtie. "That was a long time ago, my ninth regeneration."

"Well you were rude," I told him. "We were on Satellite Five, and the Jagrafess was secretly controlling the humans."

A shadow crossed over his features, and he nodded. "How early in the relationship are we?" he asked, leaning against the consul. "How many times have we met?"

"This is our fourth." I glanced at Amy and Rory – they didn't know they were my parents, and I couldn't say anything. But I had questions, and I wanted answers.

"Right, well, back to our conversation from earlier," the Doctor grinned, and spun around. "Amy, Rory, somewhere romantic. Where do you want to go?"

"Why?" I asked. "Helping them fall in love or something?" I followed him up to the consul, staring intently at my parents.

"We're already in love," Rory rushed. "We're getting married in the morning."

"Yes, you are," the Doctor exclaimed, smiling wide. He then turned to me, and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Amy kissed me, so I have to make this right."

He leaned away, and I froze. "You… kissed him?" I asked, turning to Amy.

She avoided eye contact, and Rory looked upset. I couldn't help but laugh at them all. It was sort of disgusting to think of my birth mother kissing my alien-fiancée, but I still found humor in it.

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted. "Don't laugh, it's not funny!"

I covered my mouth, and stifled my giggles. "It actually is," I grinned. "You just don't understand why yet."

He stuck his tongue out, and purposely flipped the brake on and the stabilizers off. "Right, somewhere romantic, off we go!"

I sighed as the TARDIS rumbled, and the Doctor smirked at me. When we landed, the Doctor ran to the door, and opened it wide.

"Venice!" he exclaimed, raising up his arms. Amy, Rory and I stepped out behind him to see the beautiful city and people. "Venezia! La Serenissima! Impossible city. Preposterous city! Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the middle of the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding, constantly… just beautiful!" He ran around as he spoke, and we had to quicken our pace to keep up. "Ah, you've got to love Venice. And so many people did – Byron, Napoleon, Casanova." He suddenly looked at his watch. "Ooh, that reminds me. 1518. That's all right, Casanova doesn't get born for a hundred and forty five years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory asked.

"Long story, we had a bet," the Doctor said, waving his hand as he darted away again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" a man called, stopping us from going any further. "Papers if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, and pulled out the psychic paper. "There you go fella."

I craned my neck to see what the man was seeing, but the guy snatched it away.

"All to your satisfaction, I trust you'll find," the Doctor assured.

The man looked at the paper, and his eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, your holiness," he rushed, bowing. "I didn't realize."

The Doctor waved his hand dismissively. "No worries," he assured. "You were just doing your job. Sorry, what exactly is your job?"

"Checking for aliens – visitors from foreign lands, that might bring the plague with them," the man explained.

"Well, that's great," I huffed, shooting the Doctor a glare.

"See where you bring me?" Amy groaned. "The plague!"

"Don't worry, Viscountess," the man said, and bowed to Amy and I. "No, we're under quarantine here. No one comes in, no one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom or our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri."

Rory stared at us in utter confusion, and I grinned at him.

"How interesting," the Doctor murmured, staring at the book in the man's hand. "I heard the plague died out years ago."

"Not out there," the man insisted, shaking his head and pointing in the opposite direction. "No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did she now?" The Doctor glanced at me with a raised eyebrow and small smile.

Rory swiped the psychic paper, and read it while the Doctor continued to lead us down the street. "Um," Rory called, "according to this, I am your eunuch!"

Amy turned around, with a slight roll of her eyes. "Oh yeah, I'll explain later."

I narrowed my eyes at her, and decided to hang back with Rory. "It's psychic paper," I told him. "It shows exactly what you want it to. You could pass as doctor for social services, or management for a TV station." I smiled. "I barely understand it myself, but it's worked before. In fact, you're the one that explained it to me."

"And you," Rory started, staring at me as we trudged after the Doctor and Amy. "How come last time you saw me, you acted like you've known me your whole life, and now you keep your distance from everyone except the Doctor?"

"I keep myself distanced from him," I stated, furrowing my eyebrows.

He just shook his head. "Believe what you want," he sighed, stopping besides Amy, who was leaning over a guardrail like the Doctor.

I stood next to Rory, to see what was happening, but saw nothing but a group of women clad in long, white dresses parading through the square.

Suddenly, a man ran up to the group, and starting lifting the veils of all of all them. After his third try, another one jumped in his face, and he flew back. He lay on the ground and watched them run off, yelling after a girl named Isabella.

I glanced at the Doctor to see him nod to me. I furrowed my eyebrows, and he motioned for me to follow, so without Amy or Rory noticing, I dashed off after him.

"Where are we going?" I asked, as he took my hand, and dragged me along.

"To find that man," he said. "Something's not right, and I've got to figure out what it is."

"Glad to see you're the same all the way through," I laughed, mocking him from when I first met him.

He gave me a strange look, but continued running. Finally, I spotted the man walking under an archway, and I dragged the Doctor after him.

"Who were those girls?" the Doctor asked, skipping up some steps and leaning through the archway.

The man turned, and I was able to get a good look at him. He was African, and had a faint beard and mustache. He wore old, dark and tattered clothes, and looked at us as if we were crazy. "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri School," he stated.

"Our first day here," the Doctor shrugged, and hopped down from the steps. "So, okay, parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move houses, they change religion."

I nudged the Doctor as a man squeezed between us, and he fell silent until he passed.

"So why are you trying to get her out?"

"Something happens in there," the man said, glancing around. "Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face… like an animal."

"I think it's time we met this Signora Calvierri," the Doctor decided, looking at me. "Don't you?"

I smiled and nodded, excited for what was to come.

The man, Guido, led us to the school, and while he marched up demanding for his daughter, the Doctor and I hung back.

"So," I grinned, "you kissed Amy."

He looked at me uneasily, and he avoided looking at me.

"Was I there?" I asked. "When it happened?"

He nodded, but didn't say anything else.

"How did I react?"

"Can we do this later?" he asked, slightly stamping his foot like a child. "We could be dealing with something big here, and you want to… gossip."

"I'm just asking questions," I giggled. "And as long as it doesn't spoil anything, I should get an answer."

"Well you never give me answers either," he huffed.

"Maybe this is the moment," I said softly. "Maybe I refuse to give you answers, because you refused to give me answers."

He finally looked at me, and for a second, I thought he would cave. "It's already happened, so no."

"Nothings set in stone," I argued. "Isn't the future always changing, based on decisions we make? Like, if I decide one day that I'm going buy milk from the gas station down the street, and normally I would drive, but I suddenly decide to walk, couldn't that change something? Say I get hit by a car, whereas if I drove-"

"Don't joke about those things," he ordered, his eyes turning cold. "That's something you don't laugh about."

Before I could answer, the guards at the school doors grabbed Guido, and we dashed around the building unseen, and found a gate leading in.

While the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver on the lock, I stood in front of him, keeping an eye out so we didn't get caught. I heard the lock click, and the metal squeak as it was opened, and turned around to follow.

"No, you stay here," he told me, putting his hand on my shoulder. "It's still new to you, and I don't want you getting hurt."

"Well you didn't say anything when-" I cut myself off, and the Doctors green eyes flashed. "I'm coming with you, and you can't stop me."

"You don't have anything to defend yourself with," the Doctor pointed out, and I reached down to pull out the two guns, but I remembered I left them on the TARDIS, in my bag.

"Neither do you," I countered.

"I'm a bad influence."

"I'm a bad girl." I raised my eyebrows, and pushed past him. "If I can go through hell, then I can handle this." I was referring to Demons Run, but of course he didn't know that.

After a moment, I felt his hand take mine, and he pulled me closer. "If you're going to insist on doing this, you're not going all the way down, understood? You'll stop at a safe place, and hide."

I kept my eyes forward, and shrugged. "Depends."

He pulled me to a stop, and spun me around. I felt my back press against cold stone, and I looked up, shocked.

"You stay here," he growled, leaning down menacingly. "If you hear me shouting for you to run, you run. If I say close your eyes, you shut them tight until I say so. Understood?"

I narrowed my eyes, and stood up straighter. Even with my heels, I was an inch or two shorter than the Doctor, so I stood on my tiptoes. "I'll do what I think is necessary," I stated. "If I think we should split up, then I'll go the opposite way you do. You don't control me, Doctor."

He suddenly stood upright, and he looked hurt. He grabbed my left hand, and stared at the ring he gave me. "Please," he murmured, bringing my hand to his lips. "Stay here, please. I've seen you hurt before. I can't bare that again."

The look on his face seemed pained, and I found myself nodding. "Okay," I whispered, and I had to shake my head to clear it.

The Doctor tucked me in an alcove, and I leaned my head against the wall. I debated on whether or not I should follow him, but his face came to my mind's eye. He truly looked terrified, and it scared me. I stood there for fifteen minutes, until I heard footsteps.

"Listen," I heard the Doctor say, and I could see his shadow getting closer, "I would love to stay here, this whole thing… I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas!"

He ran up to me, grinning and jumping around, before grabbing my hand, and soon was leading me out of the building. We ran down the streets of Venice, the Doctor laughing the whole way.

"Vampires!" he laughed. "The girls are vampires!"

We finally ran into Amy, and she and the Doctor gripped onto each other's shoulders excitedly. I only caught the last words 'vampires in Venice', and they jumped up and down.

Rory ran up, looking terrified, and I leaned against him, gasping for breath. "We think we just saw a vampire," he gasped.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the Doctor grinned. "Amy was just telling me."

"Yeah, the Doctor actually went to their house," Amy gushed.

"Oh," Rory said. "Right. Well…"

"Okay, so… First, we need to get back in there somehow," the Doctor decided.

"What?" Rory asked. "Back in where?"

"How do we do that?" Amy asked.

"It's like Floor 500 all over again," I stated, my eyes widening.

The Doctor grinned and nodded. "It's time to meet our new friend," he stated, taking my hand, and dashing off in the direction of Guido's.

He was a little surprised to see us again, but let us in immediately. He pulled out a map of the city, and laid it across the table. "As you saw, there's no clear way in," he told us, leaning over the map. "The house of Calvierri is like a fortress. But, there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."

"You need someone on the inside," Amy stated.

"No," the Doctor sighed.

"You don't even know what I was going to say," Amy protested.

"That we pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside, and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in," the Doctor said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh." Amy looked down. "So you do know what I was going to say."

"Are you insane?" Rory asked.

"We don't have another option."

"Yes we do," I said, standing up. "We have more options."

The Doctor whirled around, and he looked panicked. "No, Lily, I know what you're going to say, and the answer is no. Never in a million years. No."

"There is another option," Guido spoke, and pointed to the barrels he had lined up against the wall. "I work at the arsenal. We build the warships for the navy."

The Doctor walked over, and leaned over Rory to smell. "Gunpowder," he stated. "Most people just nick stationery from where they work. Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosives."

Rory slid off the barrel he was sitting on, and stepped closer to me.

"The guns haven't bothered you before," I pointed out.

"You just haven't seen it yet," he grumbled.

Guido slammed his fists on the table. "What do you suggest? We wait until they turn her into an animal?"

Amy smirked. "I'll be there three, four hours tops."

"No," I stated. "We will be there four hours tops. Think about it, Doctor. The both of us together?"

Mother and daughter always make the best team.

The Doctor started to smile, but quickly frowned. "No, no, no, no, no, no. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go." He sat down, and put his head in his hands.

I tilted my head, and sat next to him, putting my hands on his shoulders. "Doctor, vampires," I whispered giddily. "In Venice. This is Christmas, remember?"

He looked up at me. "I have to know. We go together, say you're my daughters."

"What?" Rory demanded. "Don't listen to him."

"You're daughters?" I scoffed.

"You look about nine," Amy agreed.

"Brother then." He shrugged.

"Too weird," Amy decided. "Fiancé."

I choked on air, and the Doctors eyes fell on me.

"I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé!" Rory stated.

"She does know, doesn't she?" I whispered, leaning towards the Doctor, and studying my ring while Amy and Rory bickered. "I mean… you know… right?"

He smirked. "Of course I know. And Amy… doesn't know exactly, but I think it's pretty obvious some of the time."

"They've already seen the Doctor." I looked up to see Amy smirking. "You should do it."

"Me?" Rory asked.

"Yeah! You can be our brother," Amy nodded.

The Doctor chuckled as Amy ruffled Rory's hair.

"Why is him being your brother weird, but with me, it's okay?" Rory asked.

"Actually, I thought you were her fiancée," Guido pointed out, motioning to the Doctor and me. "I am confused."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Amy huffed, and I glared.

"Actually-"

"This whole thing is mental!" Rory exclaimed. "They're vampires, for god's sake!"

"We hope," the Doctor shrugged.

"What does that mean?" I asked. "If they aren't vampires, then…?"

"Then it makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire," the Doctor finished, baring his teeth like a vampire would.

The room was silent for a bit, and I felt like I could cut the tension with a butter knife.

"I have an idea," I announced, trying not to shudder. "Amy, you'll be my sister, and Rory and will be my fiancé."

"What?" the Doctor asked, jumping up.

"Why not?" I grinned, trying to hide how freaked out I was by proposing this idea. But I saw Amy's eyes widen, so I knew I had to go through with it. "If Amy insists, then I'll play the role. It can't be that hard."

 **}*{**

"So, basically," Rory stammered, "My… fiancée and her sister have lost their parents due to plague. I'm a… gondola driver, so… I don't have enough money to support us all… so having my… fiancée and her sister go to your school for special people would be brilliant." He glanced around nervously. "Cheers."

We were standing in the courtroom, dressed in Guido's daughter's old clothes. Rory and Guido had switched outfits, and we looked the part, but Rory wasn't quite selling it.

Signora Calvierri's son leaned in, staring at Amy and Rory intently. "Have we met?" he asked.

"I've just got one of those-"

"I wasn't' talking to you," he interrupted Rory, and pointing at him.

"She's got one of those faces too," he quickly said, pointing at Amy.

"Carlo, explain yourself," Calvierri demanded. "Why have you brought me this imbecile?"

"Signora, they have references from His Majesty, the King of Sweden," Carlo answered.

"What?" Calvierri asked. "Let me see." She extended her hand, and Rory walked forward to hand her the psychic paper.

The son was still studying Amy, and I gripped her arm.

"Well, now I see what got my steward so excited," Calvierri smiled. "What say you, Francesco? Do you like them?"

"Oh, I do, Mother," Francesco grinned, circling both of us now. "I do."

"Then we'd be delighted to accept them both." The dark haired woman smiled warmly, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Say goodbye to your fiancée and her sister."

"Um… uh… uh…," Rory stammered, and I pulled him into a hug.

"Tell the Doctor we'll be fine," I whispered, and pulled away, smiling.

Carlo came and dragged Rory away, and I nudged Amy.

"Tell Uncle… Doctor that we'll see you both soon, okay?" she called, and I rolled my eyes.

Rory looked hurt, and I sent him a smile. "We'll be fine," I promised, and the door was slammed.

"If you will follow me, please," Carlo bowed, and motioned for us to follow.

Amy and I gulped, before looping arms, and following the odd man down a hallway. Many girls wearing white nightgowns stared at us as we passed, I shrunk closer to Amy. We were led up a flight of stairs, and into a room with several other girls, all with bed head and nightgowns.

"There are clothes on the bed," Carlo told us. "Get dressed and wait here." He left then, without even looking back.

"Blimey," Amy commented, looking up at the domed ceiling. "This is private education, then?"

A girl walked by us, and stared as she passed.

"I think I prefer public school," I whispered.

Amy nodded to a girl sitting on a bed, and walked over. "Hey," she greeted. "Hello. I'm Amy, and this is Lily." The girl ignored us. "What's your name?"

Without looking, the girl said, "Isabella."

My eyes widened, and I elbowed Amy. "We're going to get you out of here," I whispered to her, sitting on her bed. "But we need to know what's going on."

"What is this place?" Amy asked, sitting next to me. "What are they doing?"

Isabella seemed scared, and she finally turned to look at us. "They, um… They come at night. They gather around my bed and they take me to a room, with this green light and a chair with… with straps, as if for a surgeon."

"What happens in there?" Amy asked.

"I wake up here." Isabella was shaking, and her skin had paled. I wrapped my arms around her, and stroked her hair, trying to get her to calm down. "And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."

The clock tower rang, and I glanced at Amy. "We need to get ready," I told her, and she nodded.

We quickly changed into the nightgowns that were on our beds, and waited until the other girls were asleep. When we felt it safe, we snuck out of the room, and grabbed a couple of candles from the bedside tables.

"I've never done a solo mission," I confessed, looping my arm around Amy's again. "I'm usually by the Doctor's side."

"I've noticed," Amy smiled, glancing at me. "So are you two… like, an item? Boyfriend and girlfriend?"

I shrugged. "I assume at one point we kind of might be. I suppose to him, I was once a stranger, then a friend, and I guess more. But right now, all he is to me is a mad man who kidnapped me." I laughed. "A mad man who proposed."

Amy stopped in her tracks, and I stopped with her. "Proposed?" she repeated. "You two are engaged?"

I nodded, and looked at my ring. "On the day I met him."

Amy paled. "And I… oh my… I didn't mean anything earlier, I was-"

I shook my head at her, chuckling. "Honestly, I think the only one you hurt was Rory," I whispered, pulling her against the wall so that we didn't get caught by a passing guard.

Amy sighed. "Right, Rory."

"Is everything okay with you two?" I asked, looking at her from the corner of my eye. "I mean, in the future, everything was… I mean, it just seemed that-"

"The Doctor just shows you so many things," Amy cut me off, as we dashed through an old looking door. "He shows you amazing things, and takes you to wonderful places. And then you go back to your old life, and… it's just not the same. I want more."

I thought of Rory in the Roman costume, raised my eyebrows. "Well, Rory's… something," I laughed, peeking through an archway to see the trapdoor.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, setting down her candle, and helping me unlock the door.

"Well," I grunted, as the bar came loose. "He certainly didn't seem boring when I first met him. But, the rules say I can't say too much." I grinned, and picked the candle back up. "So I guess you just have to wait and see."

I spun around, only to run into Carlo. I screamed, and he grabbed Amy and me both before dragging us down more stairs. Amy and I struggled, but the guy was stronger than he looked.

"Control yourself, children," he spat, and threw us into a room with the girls and Calvierri.

"Take your hands off me!" Amy shouted.

"Psychic paper," Calvierri sneered. "Did you really think that would work on me?"

"We were hoping it would," I growled, looking around the room. There was a green light, like Isabella described, and it cast an eerie glow on everyone.

"Where are you from?" Calvierri hissed, circling us. "Did you fall through the chasm?"

"Yes…?" I said, but it sounded too much like a question, giving me away.

Francesco rolled his eyes. "Mother, this is pointless," he sighed. "Let's just start the process."

"Hold your tongue, Francesco!" Calvierri ordered. "I need to know what these girls are doing in the world of savages with psychic paper. Who are you with? I scarcely believe your idiot fiancée sent you. And what are you doing in my school?"

"Just travelling," I said. "Found ourselves here and thought, 'why not?' School for vampires – like some movie."

Calvierri laughed, as a couple girls brought in a chair with straps – like Isabella said. "Put her in the chair. The one with funny hair will be first."

"Hey!" I snapped. "Why does everyone hate my hair?"

Carlo handed Amy to Francesco, and shoved me into the chair, strapping me in. "Let me go!" I shouted, kicking at Carlo.

I felt like it was some horror movie – I was gonna die here, all because I didn't listen to the Doctor. I always made fun of all the stupid girls in those movies, but now here I was, exactly those characters.

Calvierri grinned, but her teeth were now fangs. I could hear Amy screaming for the Doctor, but I was frozen, and soon felt her teeth stick themselves in my neck. I screamed, and soon felt my strength draining. It lasted for ages, yet seconds, and soon, I couldn't even form a straight thought.

Francesco handed Amy back to Carlo, who was still struggling, but had stopped screaming, and loomed over me. He stroked my neck, but I couldn't move.

"Mother," I heard him say, "When you drink from her, may we share? I'm so thirsty."

"Of course, Darling," Calvierri sighed, smiling. She then turned to me. "This is how it works. First, we drink you till you're dry. Then… we fill you with our blood." I blinked and tried to focus on her face, but it was just a blur of green. "It rages through you like a fire, changing you, until one morning you awake and your humanity is a dream now faded."

"Or you die," Francesco chuckled, and I felt him fiddle with my hair. "That can happen."

"And if she survives?" Amy asked, and my head lolled back to see her.

"Then there are ten thousand husbands waiting for you both in the water," Calvierri grinned.

"Sorry about that," Amy snapped. "We're both sort of engaged." She leaped forward, and kicked at the dark haired woman, and Francesco wrapped his arm around her neck to stop her.

I watched as Calvierri pulled back a part of her dress to show some device, and soon her whole form was changing. She looked like a cross between a fish and a spider, and my eyes widened. She immediately changed back, and glared.

Something crashed behind me, and I heard voices.

"Oh! Rory, come on!"

"Doctor," I croaked, trying to sit up, and fumbled with my leather prison.

Francesco tied Amy up to my chair with a piece of rope, and he, Carlo, and Calvierri dashed off.

"He's… he's not too bright," I chuckled, as Amy easily undid the loose knot, and quickly started to work on my binds.

While she worked on my right hand, I felt someone messing with the straps on my left. With a startled cry, I turned to see Isabella furiously trying to untie me.

"She bit me," I gasped. "Am I going to die?"

"Not as long as I'm breathing," Amy growled, and helped me stand up.

She and Isabella dragged me out of the room, and into the hallway, where Rory and the Doctor were surrounded.

"Rory!" Amy exclaimed.

"Amy!"

"Quickly, through here," Isabella instructed, guiding us down a hall.

"Lily!" the Doctor shouted, and pulled me away from Amy and Isabella. "What happened?"

"No time for that!" I gasped, stumbling down the hall. "Long story short, I was bitten by a vampire."

"There not vampires," Amy corrected.

"What?" the Doctor asked, wrapping his arm around my waist and helping me down the stairs.

"I saw them. I saw her," Amy continued. "They're not vampires, they're aliens!"

Amy laughed, and the Doctor chuckled, while sonicking the door we came through. "Classic! That's good news."

"What is wrong with you people?" Rory asked.

We raced down a tunnel, Rory in front of us, and Isabella holding a torch. The Doctor had decided to carry me bridal style, and the bumping made me want to sleep.

"Come on Rory, move!" the Doctor shouted. "Lily, keep your eyes open, do not go to sleep."

We came to a door, and Isabella ushered us out. The Doctor handed me to Rory, and he raced back to the door, trying to get Isabella. I heard a buzzing sound, and the Doctor fell to the ground, passed out.

I screamed, and pushed myself out of Rory's arms, stumbling as I went to the Doctor.

Rory followed, and checked his vitals.

"Is he dead?" Amy asked.

"No, he's breathing," Rory told us, and I sighed in relief.

"Come on, Doctor, wake up," I whispered, slapping his face. He didn't respond, didn't even move. "Doctor, please!" I slapped him again, harder this time, and he jumped, nearly hitting me.

"Slapping, always with the slapping," he frowned. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I assured, standing up, and brushing off my dress.

"We're more worried about you," Amy sighed, helping him stand.

"I'm fine, I'm always fine," he grinned. He looked up at Guido, and his smile fell. "You lot go with Guido, and I'm going to have a little chat with Signora Calvierri."

Without another word, he marched off, leaving us to get in Guido's gondola and head back to his house.

Amy and I had changed back to our regular clothes, and we were sitting around the kitchen table. Rory kept fussing, insisting that I needed medical attention, but I would only push him away. It was half an hour later when the Doctor returned, looking grave.

"Are you alright?" he asked me again, rushing over.

"I'm fine," I repeated, slightly rolling my eyes.

"You've got two teeth marks on your neck," he sighed, pulling out the sonic screwdriver. He pressed it against my neck, and I felt a gentle hum before he took it away and read the scans. "You're fine."

"I told you," I grumbled.

"Yeah, well sometimes you lie," he said, pulling something from his pocket. "Now, open wide."

"Why?" I asked. "What are you-" Something was crammed in my mouth, something that tasted like a cough drop.

"It'll bring your strength back up," he informed me, and started to pace. He gave a yell of frustration, and pulled at his hair. "I need to think. Come on, brain, think, think, think!" He sat down next to Amy. "Think!"

"If they're fish people, that would explain why they hate the sun," Amy said, but the Doctor put his hand over her mouth.

"Stop talking," he told her, "brain thinking. Hush."

"It's the school thing that I don't understand," Rory commented, but the Doctor put his hand over his mouth too.

"Stop talking, brain thinking, hush," he repeated.

"They said something about husbands," I remembered. "Calvierri said something about how we had thousands of husbands waiting for us. What could that mean?"

The Doctor glared, and nodded his head to Amy, who covered my mouth.

"Stop talking, brain thinking, hush," he ordered.

"I say we take the fight to them," Guido suggested.

"Ah-ah-ah!" the Doctor protested.

"What?"

"Ah!" The Doctor motioned to Rory, who covered Guido's mouth. "Her planet dies, so they flee through a crack in space and time, and end up here, then she closes off the city and, one by one, starts changing the people into creatures like her to start a new gene pool. Got it.

"But then what? They come from the sea. They can't survive forever on land, so what's she going to do?" He stared at us for a bit. "Unless she's going to do something to the environment to make the city habitable… She said, 'I shall bend the heavens to save my race.' Bend the heavens… Bend… the heavens…" He let go of Amy and Rory's heads, and started to nod them. "She's going to sink Venice."

"She… she's going to sink Venice?" Guido repeated.

"And repopulate it with the girls she's transformed." The Doctor sighed, and laid his head down.

"You can't repopulate somewhere with just women," Rory stated. "You need… blokes.

"Thousands of husbands," I repeated. "She has… blokes."

"Where?" the Doctor asked.

"In the canal," Amy groaned. "She said to me, 'there are ten thousand husbands waiting in the water.'"

"Only the male offspring survived the journey here," the Doctor said, waving his hands. "She's got ten thousand children swimming around the canals, waiting for mum to make them some compatible girlfriends." He shuddered. "I mean, I've been around a bit, but really, that's… that's…" He shuddered again.

Something fell upstairs, and we looked up.

"The people upstairs are very noise," the Doctor commented.

"There aren't any people upstairs," Guido said.

"I knew you were going to say that," I hissed, shrinking further into my chair.

"Is it the vampires?" Rory whispered.

"Like I said, they're not vampires," the Doctor shrugged, and pulled out a giant flashlight. "Fish from space."

A window shattered, and a door was kicked open. Amy and I screamed as we jumped up, trying to avoid the flying glass. Three girls pressed their face up against the window, and hissed at us with their teeth bared.

"Aren't we on the second floor?" Rory asked.

The girls broke the window open, and I reeled back, covering my face. The Doctor ran up and pointed his sonic at them, and the pretty girls turned into creepy fish monsters.

"What's happened to them?" Guido asked.

"There's nothing left of them," the Doctor observed. "They've been fully converted. Blimey, fish from space have never been so… buxom. Okay… move!" He started running out the door, with us following close behind.

I heard Guido ask for the light, but didn't dare turn around.

"Go, go, go, guys!" the Doctor shouted. "Keep moving. Go, go, go!

"Stay away from the door, Doctor!" Guido shouted, and I turned to see the man slam the door.

"No! Guido!" the Doctor yelled, running to the door. "What are you doing? I'm not leaving you. What are you doing?"

"Use you sonic!" I shouted, banging on the door.

He pulled it out, and pointed it at the door, and growled. "Bolted!"

"Bolted? What do you mean bolted?" I asked.

"It doesn't do deadlocks," he sighed, slamming his fists against the door. "Or wood."

"Oh, well as long as you bring something useful," I growled, ramming my shoulder against the door.

"Oh shut up," he sighed. "Guido!" He suddenly froze, and took my hand. "We've got to run, now!"

He pulled me away, and we ran as fast as we could, just as a blast from behind us blew, sending us flying forward.

"Guido!" I called, coughing as I sat up. The sky was darkening, but we didn't pay attention to it.

The Doctor helped me up, and Amy and Rory joined us as we stepped closer to the rubble. "Rosanna's initiating the final phase," the Doctor told us.

"We need to stop her," Amy stated. "Come on!"

"No, no, no," the Doctor rushed. "Get back to the TARDIS."

"You can't stop her on your own," I told him.

"We don't discuss this!" he shouted at me, leaning down in my face. "I tell you to do something, Lily, and you do it. Same for you Amelia!"

Amy looked on the edge of tears, but I stood my ground.

"Is this how you are?" I growled at him. "I've met you in several different circumstances – but you always end up like this. I'm not going to sit here, and take this!" I stood on my tip-toes, and glared at him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Amy run off. Rory watched her go, before turning to face the Doctor. "Thank you," he said, and chased after his fiancée.

"What?" I asked, watching him. "What's going on?" I asked.

"Go follow them to the TARDIS," he said, running his hand over his face.

"No," I snapped, and took his hand, dragging him down the street, trying to find the Calvierri.

I felt him start to run also, but his grip on my hand tightened. "At the first sign of trouble, you're leaving," he stated, but I didn't respond.

He could believe what he wanted.

We arrived in the main room, where I had first met Calvierri. Her elegant throne was empty, and the Doctor scanned it, before pulling off the back, where a control panel was.

"You're too late," we heard, and turned around to see the dark haired woman. "Such determination… Just to save one city. Hard to believe it's the same man that let an entire race turn to cinders and ash. Now you can watch as my people take their new kingdom."

I glanced at the Doctor, confused.

"The girls are gone, Rosanna," he stated.

The dark haired woman's face fell, and she stepped back. "You're lying."

"Shouldn't we be dead?" the Doctor asked, tilting his head.

Without answering, she turned around, and started walking towards the door.

"Rosanna, please, help me," he begged. "There are two hundred thousand people in this city."

"So save them," she snapped, walking out.

The control panel behind us beeped, and the Doctor threw his sonic at me, which I caught. He went up to the panel, and motioned for me to stay while we went out a door. "I'll be right back," he promised.

I rolled my eyes, and nervously played with the screwdriver until he got back. Right as he stepped in, Amy and Rory ran through the doors.

"Get out!" he ordered. "I need to stabilize the storm."

"We're not leaving you," Rory insisted.

"Right," the Doctor sighed, "so one minute, it's all, 'you make people a danger to themselves,' and the next it's 'we're not leaving you!' But if one of you gets squashed or blown up or eaten, who gets-"

We all fell to the floor as an earthquake hit, and I tried to find something to hold onto. Rubble fell from above, and I covered my eyes. When the shaking stopped, I carefully opened my eyes and looked around.

"What was that?" Rory asked.

"Nothing, bit of an earthquake," the Doctor assured.

"An earthquake?" Amy repeated.

"Manipulate the elements, it can trigger earthquakes, but don't worry about them," the Doctor said, waving his hand. "Worry about the tidal waves caused by the earthquake. Right, Rosanna's throne is the control hub, but she's locked the program, so tear out every single wire and circuit in the throne. Go crazy, hit it with a stick, anything. We need it to shut down, and re-route control to the secondary hub, which I'm guessing will also be the generator."

We raced to the throne, and started to rip it apart. The Doctor went to roof while we tore up the controls, and it sparked with each wire. When we were finished, we ran outside, looking up, searching for the Doctor.

"There he is!" Rory shouted, pointing at the figure dangling from the building.

"He's going to get himself killed!" I shouted, shieling my eyes from the rain.

He made it to the top, and I gripped Amy's arm.

"Come on!" we shouted, and within minutes, the sky cleared, and the sun broke through.

Amy and Rory hugged, and I jumped up and down, clapping. I watched as the Doctor climbed back down, but he didn't come out of the building.

After a few minutes, I sighed, and ran into the building. I looked around, but didn't see him, so I ran down the corridor.

"Lily?" I heard, and turned around to see the Doctor.

I grinned, and jumped on him, hugging him tightly. "You did it!" I cheered, burying my face in his chest.

I felt his arms around me, and I looked up to see him looking upset.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Just a long day," he sighed, and took my hand, leading me back outside.

Amy grinned when she saw us, and ran up to hug the Doctor while I grinned at Rory. We started walking back to the TARDIS, passing many people picking up after the mess.

I remembered the Doctor saying something about clean up, back on Satellite Five – something about too many questions.

"Now, then?" the Doctor asked, turning back to Amy and Rory. "What about you two, eh? Next stop Leadworth Registry Office? Maybe I can give you away."

"I can be the Maid of Honor!" I squealed, clapping my hands.

"It's fine," Rory sighed. "Drop me back where you found me. I'll just say you've…"

"Stay," Amy smiled, making Rory stop in his tracks. "With us, please. Just for a bit. I want you to stay."

The Doctor grinned. "Fine with me."

"I think it's a great idea," I added, smiling.

"Yeah?" Rory asked. "Yes, I would like that."

"Nice one," Amy grinned, kissing him. "I will pop the kettle on." She grabbed my hand, and started to step into the TARDIS, but turned. "Hey, look at this. Got my spaceship, got my boys, got my girl. My work here is done." She dramatically swung the door open, and dragged me inside.

The sign clearly says pull, the TARDIS griped, and I laughed, at her and Amy both.

Amy left to go to the kitchen, but I stayed in the control room, turning off the brakes. The door swung open again, and I jumped back from the panel, sitting in a chair innocently.

"Right, Lily," the Doctor said, marching over. "The fourteenth of March, 2011, 10:58 AM. Jefferson High School, Illinois. Exactly one minute after we left." He grinned up at me as he flipped the brakes. "Off we go then!"

I rolled my eyes as the TARDIS started to groan, and Amy raced back in to tell me goodbye.

"Hopefully I'll see you soon," I told her, hugging her. "Instead of waiting for two weeks like last time." I sent a glare at the Doctor who smirked.

"You'll be seeing me very soon," he told me, and giving me a hug. "If I remember correctly, you're about to have a very exciting afternoon."

I pulled away and grinned. "It's always exciting nowadays," I laughed, and hugged Rory.

I grabbed my bag, and with a last wave, I stepped out of the TARDIS, into the football field. I sighed, and watched the TARDIS dematerialize, and ran back to the school, stepping in right as the bell rang to release classes.


	6. Tooth and Claw

The day passed slowly after the Doctor dropped me off. There was a sophomore who wore a white dress and nearly gave me a heart attack during lunch.

"Is everything okay?" Alexia asked.

We were walking out to the parking lot, and trying to avoid the football team who were running past us, eager to get to their first day of summer practice. Why they were starting summer practice with a month of school to go, was beyond me.

"I'm fine," I told her, nodding. A gust of wind rushed past us, and I looking up, half hoping it was the TARDIS.

"You've been out of it all day," Alexia sighed.

I laughed, and shrugged. "I guess I just didn't get much sleep last night." The quarterback slammed into me, almost knocking me down. "What the hell Anderson?" I shouted after him, bending down to pick up my books.

Alexia laughed, and bent down to help, but I waved her away. She huffed, and like the good friend she was, kicked my textbook a few feet away from me.

I rolled my eyes at her, and reached for my book, but instead found a red Converse in its place. I looked up to see a man in a pinstriped suit, long trench coat, and brown hair that ruffled in the breeze. He smiled down at me, and handed me my book. Blushing, I stood up and took it.

"Thanks," I muttered, and started to sidestep around him.

"That's a bit rude, isn't it?" he called, walking along side me. He had a British accent, and a slightly pointed nose. "I thought I was the rude one. That's what you keep telling me, anyway."

"I'm sorry?" I asked, stopping and turning to face him.

He rolled his eyes, and offered me his arm. "Come on," he grinned. "Rose is waiting in the TARDIS. I'm thinking the '70's. I haven't been there in a while."

I glanced around at my peers, and saw a few eyes trained on us.

"Follow me," I whispered, and started walking to the back of the school.

When I was satisfied that no one was with us, I turned to the strange man.

"Who are you?" I asked, tilting my head. "The TARDIS and Rose… are you…?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, and glanced down at my ring. "Oh! You haven't met this regeneration yet, I see." He grinned, and reached into his pockets. After five minutes of digging, he pulled out a small sapphire. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, he took my hand, and locked the jewel in place using his blue sonic screwdriver.

"There we go," he smiled. "No more open spots, all taken care of." He offered his arm again, and this time I took it, raising an eyebrow. "Now then, off to the 70's?"

With a chuckle, I nodded, and we started to make our way to the parking lot. We received strange looks from several students, but the Doctor ignored them, talking of past adventures.

"The last time I saw you was…," he pursed his lips, and scrunched his brow, "New New York? That was a time. Very confusing for me though, considering."

I laughed. "What did I say?" I asked.

"Ah, nope, you're not tricking me into breaking the rule." He shook his head, and stopped.

I realized that we were standing by my Jeep, and I threw my bag in the passenger seat after taking out the plasma guns and tucking them into my belt.

"Put those away," he growled. "You don't need them; we're just going on a simple trip. Nothing big… probably a circus or a concert or something."

"Yeah, well, this morning when I saw you, I forgot them," I stated, taking my keys and putting them in my pocket. "That's a mistake I hope to never repeat again."

He rolled his eyes, but started walking towards the small set of trees.

"In the woods behind your school, like always." The Doctors words from earlier came back to me, and I grinned as I skipped ahead of the brown eyed man.

I spotted the blue box easily, and bounded inside. Immediately, a head of blonde hair tackled me, and without thinking, I hugged back.

"Hey Rose," I grinned, pulling back. "Long time no see."

She grinned. "When did you last see me?" she asked.

"About… two weeks ago?" I pursed my lips, and nodded. "Yeah, sounds about right. Two weeks, and not a word."

"And she's never met this face before," the Doctor grinned, stepping up to consul.

"Two weeks?" Rose asked. "What did we do?"

"Satellite Five," I said.

"I still find that hard to believe," she sighed. "That was so long ago for us, but it's only been a couple weeks for you."

"Believe me, it's weird for me too," I grinned, and ran to join the Doctor at the controls. "So, what kind of Doctor are you?" I tilted my head as I studied him. He looked younger than the one with the leather coat, but slightly older than crazy Bowtie Man. "Are you mean like leather coat guy?"

Rose laughed, leaning against the rail, and the Doctor pouted. "I wasn't mean," he defended. "I just didn't know you well at that time. Besides, that was a different regeneration, different personality. Like I said before – new new Doctor." He grinned, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

I glanced at Rose, but she was avoiding eye contact.

"Is everything alright?" I asked. "Am I missing something?"

"Of course not," the Doctor assured, and flipped switches. "So, like I said. I'm feeling a bit 70's. How about 79?"

"What about this?" Rose asked, pointing at her outfit. "Will it do?"

She was wearing a pink shirt with jean shorted overalls. She had black tights and black boots, and her hair was wavy.

They were obviously trying to change the subject. Sighing inwardly, I played along.

"In the late 1970s, you'd be better off in a bin bag," the Doctor shrugged. "Hold on, listen to this." He flipped a switched, and music started to play. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number one in 1979. It's good to be a lunatic," the Doctor sang, wiggling his eyebrows.

I bit my lip, and Rose laughed. "You're a punk!" she exclaimed. "That's what you are. A big old punk with a bit of… rockabilly thrown in."

"What to go see him?" the Doctor asked, flipping more switches.

"You mean in concert?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"What else is the TARDIS for?" he asked. "Besides, I told you I was in a circus-y, concert mood. I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar, the first antigravity Olympics, Caesar crossing the Rubicon, or Ian Dury at the top rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November, 1979 – what do you think?"

Rose and I shared a look before nodding. "Sheffield it is then," she nodded.

The Doctor grinned at us. "Hold on tight." He flipped a switch, and I flew forward, nearly slamming my head on the consul.

"Doctor, what did you do?" I shouted, clinging onto the TARDIS.

"I didn't do anything!" he shouted back, pulling out a mallet and starting to slam buttons with it.

I really wish he'd stop doing that, the TARDIS griped, and I winced.

"Doctor, stop!" I tried to make my way over to him, and starting hitting buttons and twisting nobs.

The next second, everything stopped, and the three of us collapsed onto our backs, in hysterical laughter.

"1979!" the Doctor cheered, grabbing his coat and bounding out the door. "Hell of a year. China invades Vietnam, 'The Muppet Move' – love that film. Margaret Thatcher, urgh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb, and I like my thumb, I need my thumb, I'm very attached to…"

He trailed off, and Rose and I followed him out the door. I had just closed the door and turned around, only to be faced with a dozen or so men pointing rifles at us. I followed the Doctor and Rose's example of putting my hands up, and took in the red coats surrounding us.

The Doctor grimaced, and looked down at me. "1879," he sighed, and tilted his head. "Same difference."

"No," I stated, shaking my head. "No, it's not."

"You will explain your presence, and the nakedness of this girl," the man in front of us said, motioning to Rose. He was sitting on a horse, and glaring. "And why this is one is dressed as a boy." He had an accent, but it wasn't British. I had heard it before, but couldn't place it.

I pouted, and looked down at my outfit.

"Are we in Scotland?" the Doctor asked, grinning.

Scottish. Of course.

"How can you be ignorant of that?" the man asked.

"Oh, I'm – I'm dazed and confused," the Doctor told him, faking an accent as well – a very good one, actually. "I've been chasing this – this wee naked child over hill and over dale. Ain't that right, you… timorous beastie?"

Rose seemed confused, and after a nudge from the Doctor, she nodded. "Och, aye," she stammered, adding an accent to her voice as well. "I've been oot and aboot."

"No, don't do that," the Doctor begged.

"Hoots mon," she tried again.

"No, really, don't. Really."

"And what about this one?" the guy asked, motioning his gun to me.

"Uh…," I trailed, and glanced around. "I'm a uh… stable worker?" I glanced at the Doctor, and saw him nod. I pushed my accent out a bit more, noticing the odd looks I was getting. "I work for my Lord and Lady, a few miles east."

The man didn't seem convinced. "Lord whom?"

I hesitated, and glanced at Rose and the Doctor who shrugged.

"…Rogers?"

The man sighed, and pointed the pistol back at the Doctor. "Will you identify yourself, sir?"

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmons," the Doctor said. "From the… Township of Balamory. Uh, I have my credentials, if I may."

The man nodded, and the Doctor reached into his pocket for the physic paper. Rose and I lowered our hands, slightly smirking.

The Doctor finally held out the paper, and showed it to everyone. "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Dr. Bell himself."

"Let them approach," a woman's voice called.

"I don't think that's wise, Ma'am," the man called over his shoulder.

"Let them approach," the voice repeated.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, and the man sighed. "You will approach the carriage and show all due deference."

The Doctor saluted, and we followed him to the carriage. As we neared, a man in a black suit and top hat opened the door.

Inside, an old woman with greying hair and dressed in black stared at us.

The Doctor grinned, and turned to us. "Rose Tyler, Lily Sikes…," he started, still using the Scottish accent. "Might I introduce her Majesty, Queen Victoria, Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

"Rose Tyler, ma'am," Rose introduced, curtsying. "And my apologies for being so naked." She laughed a little, and I smiled as well.

Awkwardly, I curtsied as well. "Your Majesty."

"I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me," the queen said, nodding at Rose. "But you, Doctor, show me these credentials."

The Doctor calmly handed the paper to her, and her eyebrows rose. "Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my protector."

"Does it?" the Doctor asked. "Yes it does. Good, good. Um – then, let me ask – why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?"

"A tree on the line," the queen stated.

"An accident?"

"I'm the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland," she pointed out. "Everything around me tends to be planned."

"An assassination attempt?" the Doctor asked.

"What, seriously, there's people out to kill you?" Rose asked.

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun," the Queen sighed.

"Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence," the man behind us said, and I turned to look at him. "We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"This Doctor and his… Timorous Beasties will come with us," the Queen declared.

"Yes ma'am," the man agreed. "We better get moving. It's almost nightfall."

"Indeed," she nodded, "and there are stories of wolves in these parts, fanciful tales intended to scare the children, but good for the blood, I think. Drive on."

The door to the carriage was closed, and the party started to continue forward, leaving us to follow as well.

"Lord Rogers?" the Doctor asked.

"Shut up," I told him. "It's the first name that came to mind. You know, like Mr. Rogers? It's always the name of the neighbor, so why not the Lord?" I smirked, and added a quick skip to my step.

Rose laughed at me. "It's funny, though, 'cause you say assassination,' and you just think of Kennedy and stuff, not her."

"1879 – she's had, ooh… six attempts on her life?" the Doctor thought aloud, back to his normal accent. "And I'll tell you something else – we just met Queen Victoria."

"I know!" Rose squealed excitedly, and I laughed at them both. "She was just sittin' there."

"Like a stamp," the Doctor grinned.

"I want her to say, 'We are not amused,'" Rose mocked in a nasally voice. "I bet you five quid I can make her to say it."

I raised my eyebrows at them, and shook my head.

"Well, if I gambled on that, it's be an abuse of my privilege as a traveler in time," the Doctor sniffed.

"Ten quid?" Rose offered.

"Done."

"You two are like children," I laughed.

"Well what about you?" Rose grinned. "Do you think I can make her say it?"

I rolled my eyes, and a twirled a strand of my hair around my finger. "I dunno. She seems a little… serious. I don't think she will."

"Alright, your tenner is in the pot, then," Rose smirked.

"I don't even know what a quid is," I stated.

"Americans," the Doctor teased. "Pounds. Ten pounds."

"Well why didn't you just say so?" I asked. "How much is that in dollars?"

"Well…," the Doctor trailed. "About… Sixteen I believe?"

"Sixteen dollars on a bet," I sighed. "Alright. I bet you can't get her to say it."

Rose smirked and we shook hands. "I really hope I'm right, 'cause I've been saving up for a new phone."

They both laughed at me, and we continued on with our trek.

}*{

It was much later when we finally arrived at a large, dark building, with a telescope sticking out of the rooftop. We came to a halt behind the carriage, and it was a minute later when a man in a dark suit greeted us, flanked by bald men also in suits.

The queen climbed out of the carriage, and the man bowed. "Your Majesty," he greeted.

"Sir Robert," she smiled. "My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?"

"She's… indisposed, I'm afraid," Sir Robert stammered. "She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are… barely stocked. I wouldn't blame your Majesty if you wanted to ride on."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Doctor tilt his head. I glanced up at him, before returning my attention to the queen.

"Not at all," she was saying. "I've had quite enough carriage exercise, and this is… charming, if rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood estate. Now, shall we go inside? And, please excuse the naked girl."

"Sorry," Rose apologized.

"She's a feral child," the Doctor explained, back to the Scottish accent. "I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It was her or the elephant man, so…"

I coughed, trying to hide my laughter and Rose glared. "Thinks he's funny," she sighed, "but I'm so not amused. What do you think, ma'am?"

"It hardly matters," the queen shrugged. "Shall we proceed?"

Sir Robert nodded, and the party started to follow him inside.

"Could you be any more obvious?" I whispered, nudging Rose.

"I was so close," she insisted.

The man on the horse started ordering soldiers around, and a small box was taken from the carriage.

"So, what's in there, then?" the Doctor asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Property of the crown," the man replied. "You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir."

The Doctor pulled a face, and Rose and I giggled, before following the men inside the house. We stayed close to the queen, and Sir Robert led us into a giant room with the telescope.

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour," the queen smiled.

"All my father's work," Sir Robert nodded. "Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession; he spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself."

"I wish I'd met him," the Doctor grinned. "I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I, um…?" he trailed off, and motioned towards the telescope.

"Help yourself," Sir Robert nodded, and all three of us made a dash for it.

"What did he model it on?" the Doctor asked.

"I know nothing about it, to be honest, most of us thought him a little… shall we say, eccentric. I wish now I'd spent more time with him, and listen to his stories."

I looked through the eye piece, but the only thing I could see was a reflection of my own eye. I reeled back, and blinked, feeling dizzy.

"It's a bit rubbish," I heard, and turned around to see the Doctor studying the base of the contraption. "How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top, that's a stupid kind of a-" He stopped upon seeing Rose and mines faces. "- am I being rude again?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "What was that you said about being rude earlier?"

He rolled his eyes. "But it's pretty," he continued. "It's very… pretty."

"And the imagination of it should be applauded," the queen declared.

Rose hummed, and sent a knowing look at us. "I thought you might disapprove, your Majesty," she said. "Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused or something? No?"

My jaw dropped slightly, and I bit my tongue. The Doctor shook his head at the blonde, and she smirked.

"This device surveys the infinite work of God," the queen shrugged. "What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all, a polymath, steeped in astronomy and the sciences, yet equally well-versed in folklore and fairy-tales."

"Stars and magic, I like him more and more." The Doctor leaned against the wall as he said this, grinning. He walked around to examine the telescope again, as the queen continued talking.

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," she sighed. "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did, from Saxe-Corburg."

"That's Bavaria," the Doctor whispered in our ears, and Rose and I nodded.

"When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported," the queen sighed, turning to Sir Robert.

"What wolf?" I asked, tilting my head.

"It's just a story," Sir Robert assured, slightly shaking his head.

"Then tell it," the Doctor urged.

Sir Robert hesitated, and I saw his head turn slightly to the men behind him. "It's said that-"

"Excuse me, Sir," one of the men interrupted. "Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."

"Of course," Sir Robert smiled.

"And then supper," the queen stated. "And… could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness. Miss Sikes will change, as well. I don't care what your job is, you'll look decent for supper."

"It's not amusing, is it?" Rose pushed, and the queen raised her eyebrows at her.

Stop it, the Doctor mouthed and I shook my head.

"Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes," the queen continued. "See to it. We shall dine at seven and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight."

"So there is ma'am," Sir Robert said, and he had a look of panic. He bowed, and two men led Rose and I to separate rooms.

There was a large wardrobe in the corner, and when I opened it, I could see several dresses crammed into it.

I held a green one up, and immediately put it back. I flipped through the many dresses, finally deciding on a red one, with black and gold accents. When I finally had it on, I admired myself in the mirror. I tilted my head from side to side, before sighing, and walking out. I went to the room next door, where Rose was, and knocked.

"Rose?" I called. "Are you still in there?"

"Uh… yeah," she called. "You go one without me." She stuck her head out of the door, and her eyes kept shifting. "Tell the Doctor, I'll be a little late." She raised her eyebrows, and I glanced inside. A woman was sitting on a bed, with tear stains running down her cheeks.

Nodding, I glanced down the hallway, before walking. One of the butlers stepped into my vision, and I quickened my pace.

"Would you mind showing me to the dining area?" I asked, folding my hands in front of me.

He softly glared, before motioning another man over. I glanced down the hall, towards Rose's door, and before I could protest, the new man lightly took my arm, and started leading me down the hall.

"But I just-"

"This way, Miss," the man insisted, and before I knew it, I was entering a large room, with a massive table. The queen, the Doctor, Sir Robert and the captain from earlier was already seated, and looked up at me expectantly as I was led to a chair by the Doctor.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," I said softly, and sat down.

"So, what do you think?" the Doctor whispered, grinning.

"Something's wrong," I muttered, eyeing the butlers. "I mean, something's really wrong. Rose-"

"Your companion, Miss Tyler, begs an apology, Doctor," the head butler announced. "Her clothing has somewhat delayed her."

"Oh, that's all right," the Doctor shrugged, ignoring me. "Save her a wee bit of ham."

"Doctor-"

"The feral child could probably eat it raw," the queen joked, and the man at her right nervously laughed.

"Very wise ma'am," he praised, "very witty."

"Slightly witty, perhaps," the queen snapped. "I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited."

The table fell silent as the captain fumbled.

"I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury." The queen nodded, and the Doctor quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Yes ma'am," the captain nodded. "Sorry ma'am."

"Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert," the Doctor pointed out, ignoring my elbow pressing into his side. "Come, Sir, you promised us a tale of nightmares."

"I'll give you a nightmare," I muttered, glaring.

He shot me a glare, and I glared back.

"Indeed," the queen agreed. "Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction."

"You must miss him," I sighed, choosing to ignore the Doctor.

The queen looked me up and down before answering. "Very much," she nodded, and got a faraway look in her eye. "Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not to scares and chills – that's just for children – but the… hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from the place. It's the Creator's greatest mystery, that we are allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent, and we must wait." She was silent for a second, before sighing and shaking her head. "Come. Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters."

"The story goes back 300," Sir Robert began, after some hesitation. "Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found, ripped apart and de- devoured."

"Oh, tales likes this just disguise the work of thieves," the captain shrugged. "Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that."

"But sometimes a child goes missing," Sir Robert stated. "Once is a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead."

"Are there descriptions?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, yes, Doctor," Sir Robert nodded. "Drawings and woodcarvings. It's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal."

The Doctor gave me an excited look, before turning back. "A werewolf?" he asked.

Sir Robert hesitated. "My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose. I should've listened." His eyes darted to the head butler, who was walking behind him. "His work was hindered, he made enemies. There's a monastery in the glen of St. Catherine. The brethren opposed my father's investigations."

"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly," the queen pointed out, tilting her head.

"That's what I thought," Sir Robert nodded. "But now, I wonder, what if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet? What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf?"

My eyes were still trained on the butlers. "What if… what if they were with us now?" I asked softly, momentarily forgetting Rose.

The Doctor followed my gaze to the butlers, and stood up.

"What is the meaning of this?" the queen asked, standing up as a loud noise came from outside. For the first time, I noticed the butler chanting by the window.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty, they've got my wife," Sir Robert apologized.

"Doctor, Rose," I remembered, leaping up. "Rose, she was with some maid in her room."

"Rose, where is she?" he demanded, standing up as well. He went over to the butler, but when he got no response, he spun around. "Sir Robert, come on!"

He ran back towards us, and grabbed my hand. We started running out the door, but the captain and queen stayed back. We ran down the hall, Sir Robert leading the way.

"I don't believe this," I muttered. "Vampires and werewolves in one day. Are you trying to kill me?"

"Vampires?" the Doctor asked, as Sir Robert opened the door to a stable.

"Future." I waved him off, and followed Sir Robert inside.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rose asked us.

"Sorry," I rushed. "Tall, thin and stupid here doesn't know how to take a hint."

"Oh, that's beautiful," the Doctor smiled, looking at the beast. After a second, he blinked and turned to me. "Oi!"

I rolled my eyes and helped Rose to her feet.

"Get out, all of you!" Sir Robert ordered, and we all ran back to the house. When I saw the Doctor frozen, I yanked on his arm.

The beast growled behind us, and the Doctor sonicked the door as it howled.

Everyone started to arm themselves with guns, and I myself took my guns out of the folds of my dress.

"It could be any form of light-modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths," the Doctor said, fumbling with his sonic. "Did it say what it wanted?"

We looked to Rose, and she nodded. "The queen, the crown, the throne – you name it."

There was a loud bang, and our heads turned, expecting an attack. The Doctor started walking down the hall, tucking his sonic into his suit pocket, but Rose and I stayed where we were. He immediately ran back in, and grabbed Rose and I's hands, dragging us down the hall. We hid behind the group of men that had guns, and watched as they fired at the giant beast.

"Normal bullets won't work on it, will they?" I asked quietly.

The Doctor's eyes flitted down to my own firearms, and his eyes hardened. "No," he growled. "Put those away."

"You weren't kidding, were you? When you said I haven't seen your disapproval." I sighed, and took aim. "Well guess what – these things saved my family's lives, so I'm not getting rid of them."

"But-"

I shot at the beast, hitting its hind leg, and it growled, before enduring a few more shots of normal bullets, and dashing down an opposite hall.

"Alright, men, we should retreat upstairs," the Doctor called, still glaring at me. "Come with me."

"I'll not retreat," one of the guys said. "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth could survive such an assault."

The Doctor looked furious as the man chased after the wolf. "I'm telling you, come upstairs!"

"And I'm telling you, sir," the man countered, "I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall." He made it to the end of the hall, and looked down it, before smirking. "He must have crawled away to die."

We all gasped as he was suddenly grabbed by neck, and yanked upwards. There were loud snapping noises, and I tried to drown out the noises with my thoughts.

"There's nothing we can do!" the Doctor shouted, and pulled my arm up the stairs. Rose and Sir Robert followed close behind, but the others stayed where they were. Several bullets were fired, but I heard the cries of the men as the beast snatched them.

We ran into the throughout the house, searching for the queen and captain. "Your Majesty?" Sir Robert called. "Your Majesty!"

"Sir Robert," we heard, and looked up to see the queen running down the stairs, "what's happening? I heard such terrible noises."

"Your Majesty, we've got to get out," Sir Robert begged. "But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?"

The queen's eyes shifted. "Captain Reynolds disposed of him."

"The front door's no good," the Doctor told us, popping up at my side. "It's been boarded shut. Pardon me, your Majesty, you'll have to leg it out of a window."

The queen raised her chin, and walked calmly into another room, with us all following.

"Excuse my manners, ma'am, but I shall go first – the better to assist her Majesty's egress," Sir Robert said, stepping in front.

"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh," the queen nodded.

"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" the Doctor urged.

Sir Robert nodded, before opening the window, only to duck down as shots were fired. Immediately, he closed the window again, and the Doctor ran up to join him.

"I reckon the monk-y boys want us to stay inside," he said softly.

"Do they know who I am?" the queen asked.

"Yeah, that's why they want you," Rose told her, with a slightly annoyed look on her face. "The wolf's lined you up for a… a biting."

"Now, stop this talk," the queen ordered. "There can't be an actual wolf."

There was a howling behind us, and we turned sharply. "Then what's that?" I asked sarcastically.

The Doctor jumped up, and we followed him out of the room. A closed door at the end of the hall was bulging in, and it looked like a few hits away from giving in.

"What do we do?" Rose asked.

"We… run," the Doctor shrugged.

"Is that all you ever do?" I asked.

"You got any silver bullets?" he shot back.

"I've got plasma bullets," I stated, raising my eyebrows.

"Well, there we are – not silver. We run." He turned to the queen. "Your Majesty, as a doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog – good for the health." He jogged in place, before taking the queen's hand, and dashing up the stairs.

We ran down several hallways, before ducking behind the captain who stepped out behind a wall. He shot a single bullet at the wolf, giving us a minute to breathe.

"I'll take this position and hold it," he told us, reloading his gun. "You keep moving for God's sake! Your Majesty, I went to look for the property, and it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it," she stated. "It's safe."

"Then remove yourself, ma'am," the captain advised. "Doctor, you stand as her Majesty's protector. And you, Sir Robert – you're a traitor to the crown." He cocked his gun, and turned to face the opposite way.

"Bullets can't stop it!" the Doctor told him.

"They'll buy you time," the captain insisted. "Now, run!" He stepped out from our hiding place, and without looking back, the Doctor began running.

"Thank you," I told him, before following the others.

We ran into a library, but Rose didn't enter.

"Rose, come on," I shouted, but she stayed frozen.

I heard snarling and a scream, and Rose had a look of panic on her face. The Doctor whizzed past me, and pulled the blonde in, before closing the door tight.

"Barricade the door," Sir Robert instructed, and we grabbed every chair and desk we could carry to block the door.

"Wait a minute, shh," the Doctor shushed. "Wait, wait, shh." It was silent on the other side. "It stopped." He stood on top of one of the chairs, and put his ear against the wooden walls. "It's gone."

"Listen," Rose said softly. I could hear a faint snarling; I turned, following the sound.

"Is this the only door?" I whispered, turning my head slightly to Sir Robert.

"Yes," he whispered back. His eyes suddenly widened, and dashed away. "No!"

The two men grabbed the remaining furniture, and started blocking a door on the other side of the room.

"Shh," Rose shushed.

There were more snarls, and I felt my heart racing. "What's stopping it?" I asked. "It barged through a door just a few minutes ago, but it can break through the walls or anything?"

"Something inside this room," the Doctor said, walking around. "What is it? Why can't it get in?"

"I'll tell you what though," Rose breathed.

"What?" I asked.

"Werewolf."

"I know," the Doctor grinned, and even I couldn't help the giggles as we group hugged.

"You two alright?" the Doctor asked us, grinning.

"I'm okay, yeah," Rose smiled.

"And you Lily?" the Doctor asked, with raised eyebrows. "You said vampires earlier. How are you holding up?"

I laughed, and nodded. "Never better."

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Sir Robert called, with his head in his hands. "It's all my fault. I should've sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong, I… I thought you'd notice. Did you think that nothing was strange about my household staff?"

"Well," the Doctor said, in a weird way and an octave higher than normal, "they were bald, athletic. Your wife's away. I just thought you were happy."

Rose got a strange look on her face, and I stared at her in confusion. "I'll tell you what, though, ma'am," she started, "I bet you're not amused now."

I laughed, but the queen cut me off. "Do you think this funny?" she demanded.

"No ma'am," I rushed. "Sorry ma'am."

"What exactly – I pray, tell someone, please – what exactly is that creature?"

"You'd call it a werewolf, but technically, it's a more of a Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform," the Doctor explained, scratching the back of his neck.

"And should I trust you, sir?" she asked. "You, who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?"

I bit my lip, and looked at the ground.

"Oh," the Doctor drawled. "Right, sorry."

"I'll not have it," the queen declared. "No, sir, not you, not that thing – none of it. This is not my world."

We were silent for a bit, and the queen sat down on a large chair.

"I just got chewed out by the queen," I whispered to Rose. "And to think, I could be studying for my test next week."

She grinned, and the Doctor started examining the walls. "Mistletoe," he whispered, running his fingers along the wood. "Sir Robert, did you father put that there?"

We turned to look at the Lord, who seemed confused. "I don't know," he admitted. "I suppose."

"On the outer door, too," the Doctor mumbled. "No, a carving wouldn't be enough. I wonder…" He stood up, and licked the wall, and Rose and I looked at him in disgust.

"Does he do that a lot?" I asked her, and she shrugged.

"Sometimes, yeah."

"Viscum Albun, the oil of the mistletoe," the Doctor announced, "it's been worked into the wood like a varnish. How clever what your dad! I love him! Powerful stuff, mistletoe – bursting with lectus and viscotoxins."

"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose asked.

"Or it thinks it is," the Doctor nodded. "The monky monk-monks needed a way of controlling the wolf. Maybe they trained it to react against certain things."

"Monky monk-monks?" I asked, unable to get past his comment. He grinned, nodding.

"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon," Sir Robert pointed out.

"Sure we do," I grinned, holding up the plasma pistols. "These things will do more damage that your guns by a long shot."

"I'm going to throw those out of the window," the Doctor threatened, and I pouted. He then turned to Sir Robert, looking annoyed. "Your father got all the brains, didn't he?"

"Being rude again," Rose told him.

"Ah, good," he nodded. "I meant that one. You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world." He spun around as he neared the shelves, and slid on a pair of glasses. "This room's the greatest arsenal we could have. Arm yourself." He tossed me a book, and I scrunched up my nose.

"I hate reading," I stated, but opened the book anyway.

We all began talking at once, as we combed through the pages of all the books, searching for anything useful. Rose started talking about biology, and I heard Sir Robert mention explosives. I turned the page to my book, and tilted my head at an old picture.

"Hey, Doctor," I called, laying the book down on the table.

In a flash, he was by my side, looking over my shoulder. "Look what your old dad found," he grinned. "Something fell to Earth."

"A spaceship?" Rose asked.

"Shooting star," Sir Robert corrected. "'In the year of our Lord, 1540, under the reign of King James V, an almighty fire did burn in the pit.' That's the glen of St. Catherine, but by the monastery."

"But that's over 300 years ago," Rose pointed out. "What's it been waiting for?"

"Maybe just a single cell survived," the Doctor thought aloud. "Adapting slowly down the generations. It survived through the humans, host after host after host."

"But why does it want the throne?" I asked.

"That's what it wants," Rose repeated. "It said so, the… the Empire of the Wolf."

"Imagine it," the Doctor breathed. "The Victorian Age accelerated. Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam. Leaving history devastated in its wake."

"Sir Robert," the queen called, standing up abruptly, "if I am to die here-"

"Don't say that, your Majesty," Sir Robert begged.

"I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask that you find some place of safekeeping for something far… older and more precious than myself." She began rifling through her bag, and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables," the Doctor commented.

The queen glared, and I lowered my eyes. "Thank you for your opinion, but there is nothing more valuable than this." She pulled out a giant diamond from her bag, and I my eyes widened.

"Oh, your Majesty," the Doctor gasped.

"Is that the Koh-i-noor?" Rose asked.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor breathed, and we all took timid steps towards it. "The greatest diamond in the world."

"Given to me as the spoils of war," the queen explained. "Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die."

"Well that's true of anything if you wait long enough," the Doctor shrugged, and held out his hand. "Can I?"

The queen hesitated, before relenting, and handing it over.

The Doctor held it for Rose and me to see, and lowered his glasses.

"That's beautiful," I gasped.

"How much is that worth?" Rose asked.

"They say the wages of the entire planet," the Doctor told us, "for a whole week.

Rose chuckled. "Good job my mum's not here – she'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."

"And she'd win," the Doctor agreed.

Sir Robert said something quietly, and walked away.

"Why do you travel with it?" I asked.

"My annual pilgrimage," the queen explained. "I'm taking it to Helier and Carew. The royal jewelers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting."

"Oh, but it's perfect," Rose told her.

"My late husband never thought so," the queen admitted.

"Now, there's a fact – Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down," the Doctor explained. "It used to be 40% bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting."

"He always said the shine was not quite right," the queen chuckled. "But he died with it still unfinished."

"Unfinished," the Doctor repeated, and threw the diamond back at the queen. "Oh, yes, there's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research – your husband, ma'am, he came here and sough the perfect diamond. Hold on. Hold on! All these separate things. They're not separate at all. They're connected!" He clutched his hair in his fists. "Oh, my head! My head! What if? This house – it's a trap for you, is that right ma'am?"

"Obviously," the queen stated.

"At least, that's what the wolf intended," the Doctor grinned. "But what if there's a trap inside the trap?"

"You're making no sense," I said, staring at him like he was crazy.

"What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories? They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap, not for you, but for the wolf."

There was a scratching noise above us, and I raised my eyes to the ceiling, where a glass dome was above us, and the wolf was climbing on top of it.

"Doctor," I whispered, as dust fell.

"I know," he whispered back. The glass started to crack, and my eyes widened. "Out, out, out, out, out!"

We started throwing the furniture away from the door, as the wolf crashed in. when we were all out of the room, the Doctor slammed the door shut, and we raced down the hall.

"Got to get to the observatory!" I heard him yell, and soon he had caught up to us.

I could hear the wolf snapping at my heels, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rose stop and turn. She screamed, and I whirled around in time to see a group of women dump a bowl of water and leaves on the beast.

"Good shot!" the Doctor praised, as the beast ran the other way.

"It was mistletoe," the woman in front told us, and the Doctor, Rose and I ran down the hall to make sure the wolf was gone.

When we were happy, we ran back as the women started heading back downstairs.

"The observatory's this way," Sir Robert told us, pointing. The Doctor led the way and we found ourselves climbing more stairs.

When we entered the room, the Doctor began spinning around wildly. "No mistletoe on these doors, 'cause your father wanted the wolf to get inside," he explained. "I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?"

"Do your work," Sir Robert ordered, "and I'll defend it."

"If we could bind them shut with rope or something," the Doctor continued.

"I said, I'll find you time, Sir," Sir Robert repeated, and my eyes widened. "Now get inside."

"Good man," the Doctor nodded, and shut the door.

"What?" I asked. "You're just going to let him die? Are you crazy?"

"We've got no choice, Lily," the Doctor shouted at me. "Your Majesty, the diamond."

"For what purpose?" she asked.

"The purpose it was designed for."

"Doctor, let me go out there," I insisted, marching towards the doors, but Rose held me back. "He doesn't have any way to defend himself!"

"Lily!" he shouted at me. "Be quiet!"

The queen handed him the diamond, and he nodded at Rose and I. Rose ran to help him, and after some hesitation, I ran after them.

"That's murder," I told him.

"Lift it, come on," the Doctor instructed, ignoring me. Rose and I began trying to spin the large wheel he had motioned to.

"Is this the right time for stargazing?" Rose asked, as we struggled with the wheel.

"Yes it is," he panted.

I heard the strangled cries of Sir Robert, and I glared at the Doctor. "I could've helped him," I snapped.

"You would've died," he shot back. "You or him?"

"Why do you always do this?" I asked. "I try to help, and you pull those stupid puppy dog eyes out, and assume I'll do whatever you want. You stupid, arrogant-"

"Alright!" Rose interrupted. "If you done acting like children. I thought you said this thing didn't work, anyway." She pointed this question towards the Doctor, and after glaring at me for another second, he snapped his head to her.

"It doesn't work as a telescope 'cause that's not what it is," he explained. "It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light like a weapon. We've just got to power it up."

"With what?" Rose asked. "There's no electricity!"

The Doctor shrugged.

"Moonlight," I gasped, still struggling with the wheel. "It needs moonlight, the wolf is made by it."

"You're 70% water," the Doctor said. "You can still drown, come on!"

We watched as the telescope lined up with the moon, and just as the doors burst open, the telescope burst with light, but missed the wolf. It towered over the queen, and in a rush, I swiped the Doctors glasses off his face, and dove to slide them under the light. Immediately, it reflected off of the lenses, and struck the wolf. It rose to the air, and the wolf transformed to a young man.

He hung in the air, nude, and surrounded by a white, flowing light. "Make it brighter," he begged. "Let me go."

Sadly, the Doctor walked over, and magnified the light until the figure disappeared with a lone howl. We breathed a sigh of relief, and Rose and I hugged.

"Your Majesty?" the Doctor called, and I looked up to see her examining her wrist. The Doctor gave us a worried glance, before turning back to the queen. "Did it bite you?"

"No, it's… it's a cut," she said, "that's all."

"If that thing bit you…" The Doctor walked closer.

"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart," she insisted. "It's nothing."

"Let me see?" he asked, and the queen immediately began glaring.

"It is nothing."

}*{

The sun was rising, and we stood in the main room of the house, facing the queen. Soldiers surrounded the room, and the queen sat calmly in her seat. Her wrist was bandaged, and she had a steely gaze.

We kneeled before her, and the Doctor smirked at Rose and I.

"By the power invested in me," the queen began, "by the church and the state, I dub thee Sir Doctor of the TARDIS." She rested a sword on each of his shoulders, and repeated the action for Rose and I, saying, "by the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate. By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Lily of Illinois. You may stand."

We stood up slowly, smiling.

"Many thanks, ma'am," the Doctor grinned.

"Thanks," Rose smiled. "They're never gonna believe this back home."

"I'll be sent to a mad house," I chuckled.

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the Great Beyond," the Doctor began. "I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you, even now, ma'am. From beyond the grave."

"Indeed," the queen agreed. "Then you may think on this, also – that I am not amused."

"Yes!" Rose cheered quietly, and the Doctor and I grumbled.

"Not remotely amused," the queen stated, and we sobered up. "And hence forth – I banish you."

We froze. "I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked.

"I have rewarded you, Sir Doctor," the queen said. "And now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the three of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror. And blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it! You will leave these shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good. And how much longer you may survive this terrible life. Now leave my world… and never return."

}*{

"Brilliant," I snorted, as we rode a buggy back to the TARDIS. "My second time in the United Kingdom, and I get banished. I might as well get banished from Venice as well. What's next, Doctor? Banished from my own country? Maybe we'll kill some innocents along the way."

"Stop it," he snapped. "I had no choice."

"Now you're starting to sound like future you," I sighed. "Except I like him. You, however, I'm not sure. Hell, I'll take leather jacket over you."

"If I let you go out there with Sir Robert, you'd be dead now," the Doctor told me. "Then where would we be?"

"Then you'd never meet me, which means I wouldn't die, which means I'd be home with my parents, in a small town in England, not banished."

"Alright, you two," Rose snapped. "Lily, just thank the Doctor you're still alive, and we can carry on as usual."

The buggy came to a stop, and I jumped off, with my arms crossed. "Thank you, for killing an innocent man, in order to save my life," I said, giving a mock curtsy. "Just what I've always wanted my fiancée to do." I mumbled the last part, and luckily, neither of them heard me.

"Lily," Rose repeated, and I sighed.

"You're worse than my mom – both of them." I stared at the Doctor for a few minutes, before sighing. "Thank you. And I'm sorry."

The Doctor had a hard look on his face for a few moments, before grinning, and pulling me into a hug. "Ah, I can't stay mad at you," he sighed, and I rolled my eyes before lightly hugging him back.

When I pulled away, he was still grinning.

"No, but the funny thing is, Queen Victoria actually did suffer a mutation of the blood," the Doctor confessed, as we walked. "It's historical record. She was hemophiliac; they used to call it the Royal Disease. But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it, it came from nowhere."

"What and you're saying that's a wolf bite?" Rose asked.

"Well, maybe 'hemophilia' is just a Victorian euphemism," the Doctor shrugged.

"For 'werewolf'?" I asked.

"Could be."

"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?" Rose asked.

"Could be." The Doctor grinned. "And, her children had the royal disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip."

"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?" Rose pressed.

"Well, maybe not yet – I mean, a single wolf cell could take… a hundred years to mature," the Doctor sighed. "Might be ready by… ooh, early 21st century?"

"That's ridiculous," I laughed.

"Mind you, Princess Anne-" Rose started.

"I'll say no more," the Doctor said, shaking his head.

"And if you think about it," Rose laughed, "they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They – they could schedule themselves around the moon – we'd never know! And they like hunting. They love sports."

"Oh my gosh, they're werewolves!" I laughed, as we stepped inside the blue box.

Rose began howling as the Doctor put in the coordinates, and we both joined in. We were still laughing as the TARDIS landed in the woods outside my school, and I took several deep breaths to calm myself down.

I wiped a tear from my eye, as I gave Rose a hug, and then the Doctor. "See you later, Rosie," I laughed. "And Doctor, don't be a stranger – don't make me wait two weeks to see you again."

"So you don't hate me, then?" he asked, smiling.

I pretended to think, before shaking my head. "How can I hate my parents best friend? And you weren't kidding earlier. That was an exciting afternoon."

"Yeah, tell me more about these vampires," the Doctor asked, and I laughed.

"I don't think so," I chuckled. "I'm not as bad as giving things away as you are."

"Well," he said, in that funny way. "We'll just see about that, won't we?"

I rolled my eyes, before saying my goodbye to the TARDIS, and bounding out the door.

When I made it to my jeep, I stopped, and listened for the TARDIS' engines. I sighed as he left the brakes on, and started my own engine.

Vampires and werewolves in one day.


	7. Daleks in Manhattan

**This chapter is unfinished.**

* * *

Despite me asking the Doctor to keep in touch, I hadn't heard from any regeneration for three weeks.

It was April, and our choir trip was next week. I was stressed with rehearsals, and the fact that teachers didn't seem to care, and were already focusing on finals didn't help.

The nightmares continued, morphing from the battle at Demons Run, to the Jagrafess, to vampires, to werewolves. Some new dreams would pop up every once in a while, nearly leaving me in tears, even though I couldn't remember them when I woke up.

Currently, I was sitting on my bed, notes, music sheets, and my laptop surrounding me. I heard the doorbell ring, and a moment later, the door opened. I could hear talking, but tried to ignore it, assuming it was another guy trying to sell us new windows or siding despite our 'no soliciting' sign at the entrance to the neighborhood.

"Lily!" I heard my adoptive father yell. "There's a couple here to see you."

"No, no, we're not a couple," I heard, and slammed my history book shut, before struggling with my shoes.

"Coming!" I called. "Give me two seconds!" I yelped as I fell over trying to pull on my boots, and quickly shot up, checking my reflection in the mirror. When I was satisfied, I ran out of my room, and recognized the spikey hair and trench coat of the Doctor. Next to him, was a girl I'd never seen before. She had dark skin, and wore a red leather jacket over a light red top, and light blue skinny jeans.

"I'll be right back, Dad," I promised, and shut the door as I stepped outside. I turned to the Doctor and glared softly. "I told you, keep in touch. Don't be a stranger. And you show up three weeks later with someone else I've never seen before."

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows, before shrugging. "Well, in my defense, we just saw you a few minutes ago."

"So, you really don't know me?" the new girl asked, and I nodded.

"Never seen you before in my life."

"So, we're fairly early in the relationship still," the Doctor sighed, and began to walk away.

The new girl rolled her eyes, before holding out her hand, which I shook.

"Martha Jones," she grinned. "Wow, that's amazing. Cuz we just saw you, five minutes ago, and now you have no idea who I am."

I laughed, and we made our way to the TARDIS. "It's more annoying than amazing," I shrugged, as we stepped through the door.

"Alright, ladies," the Doctor grinned. "Where to?"

"Well, since I'm banished from the UK," I started, raising my eyebrows.

"How'd you get banned from the UK?" Martha asked, her eyes wide.

The Doctor shrugged sheepishly, before turning back to the controls. "Right, so you're going to hold that over my head then."

"My second trip to the UK, and I get banned," I stated, turning to Martha. "We were with Rose – do you know Rose? I would ask where she is, but last time I mentioned her in front of future him, I thought he was going to throw me into the vortex."

They both fell silent around me, and I sighed. "He's already got you into the rule of not telling me anything?"

Martha grimaced, and I turned to the Doctor. "I can't do anything because of you."

"Well, I have my reasons," the Doctor stated, before violently pulling a lever, and smashing a button. Martha gripped the railing, and I ran over to help drive the TARDIS.

What's up with them? I asked the TARDIS.

It was silent for a few seconds before I got my answer. It would probably be in your best interest to not mention Rose. Things have happened.

I glanced up at the Doctor, and noticed his steely eyes. I sighed, before nodding. It would be nice to get some answers every once in a while, though.

She chuckled, and a switch to my left flipped up by itself. The Doctor blinked at it, before grinning, and I laughed.

We landed smoothly for once, and we smiled before racing each other to the door.

* * *

 **There is one more unfinished chapter, that is set to go later in this stories timeline.**


	8. Aliens of London - Pre Write

The doorbell rang, and I giddily ran to answer the door. I pulled my skirt down, slightly regretting my decision of asking Amy if I could borrow her police costume. Her being a kiss-o-gram, I should've known better, but for some reason I had assumed the skirt would at least be longer than it was.

"Trick or treat!" Three little princesses crowded around me, and I grinned, reaching for the little cauldron full of candy bars.

"Alright," I started, holding the bowl out in front of them. "As sheriff of this town, I say you gotta have a joke before you get your candy. Who goes first?"

The girls all giggled, and Cinderella stepped forward. She couldn't have been older than six, so I had no idea what to expect. Sometimes, little kids had really clever knock-knock jokes, but others, they made no sense.

"Knock knock," Cinderella grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Who's there?" I asked, kneeling down.

"Boo!"

I chuckled. "Boo hoo?"

"Don't cry!" she rushed. "I'm sorry! Mommy said it was a funny joke!"

I laughed, and looked behind the girls to see a group of moms hanging out on the driveway. "Well, I think it was brilliant," I told her. "In fact, I think you just scored extra candy for you and your friends."

All three of them squealed, and held out their plastic pumpkins. With my left hand, I reached into the cauldron, and froze as the vortex manipulator beeped, and glowed yellow. Confused, I rushed to give the three girls their candy, and as soon as they were a respectful distance away, I closed the door.

"Lily?" Mom called, walking down the hall, and fastening an earring in. She was dressed as a vampire, and had made her face deadly pale. "Your father and I are leaving. We have that party at the office, remember?"

I quickly put my hand behind my back, and nodded. "Cool. I'll stay here and pass out candy then."

"You don't mind, do you, Dear?" she asked, turning to look at herself in the mirror.

The vortex manipulator beeped again, and I clamped my hand over it. "I'll be fine, Mom. Really."

She finally turned to face me, and looked me up and down. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

"Get what?" I tilted my head, confused.

"That costume. I thought you were going to wear what you wore last year. That genie or whatever."

"Oh, yeah," I stuttered. "Well, I borrowed it from Alexia. It's one of her old costumes."

"It's a bit short, isn't it?" Mom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…"

Dad walked in, also dressed as a vampire, except far more Count Dracula. "Julia, we need to leave, we're already running late."

 _Beep_.

"Did you hear that?" Mom asked.

"It's my phone," I lied, reaching into my pocket, and pretending to look at my text messages. I was surprised to see that I had actually missed a call from the Doctor, but ignored it for now.

"Alright, well, we're leaving." Both my adoptive parents kissed my forehead, before stepping out the door.

I locked it behind them, and glared at the manipulator that was wrapped around my wrist. If it weren't for the fact that River gave it to me before she… died… I wouldn't have kept it. I would've left it in the TARDIS or something. I didn't even know how to use it.

It suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree, and I hit it a bunch of times. It flashed, and a weird, queasy feeling came over me. I shut my eyes tightly, and when I did finally open them, I was facing the TARDIS, and it was day time.

"What the…?" I trailed off, looking around. "Hey, TARDIS. What's up?"

She didn't answer, and I furrowed my brow.

"TARDIS? Hey, why are you being so quiet?" I tried to push the door open, but she remained locked. Confused, I knocked, but no one answered. "Why aren't you answering me?"

I gave up, and took in my surroundings. The apartment complex behind me told me that I was in London, and Rose was most likely nearby. And wherever Rose was, the Doctor was close behind. With a sigh, I pulled my skirt down, and made my way up to Jackie's apartment.

I debated on whether or not I should just walk on in, or knock. I didn't know where we would be in the relationship, so I decided to play it safe.

I rapped on the door a couple of times, and when it opened, Jackie was looking relieved. "Oh, good, another police officer. Well don't just stand there, come in!"

She pulled me through the doorway, and I had to be careful that she didn't slam the door on me.

On the couch in front of me, Rose and the Ninth Doctor were sitting down in front of an officer, looking annoyed.

"Thank goodness you're here," Jackie sighed. "This bloke here doesn't know what he's doing! I want this man arrested!" She pointed at the Doctor, and I looked between my three friends to see what was going on. When I didn't get an answer, I pulled out my physic paper, and flashed in front of the officer.

"I'm in charge here now," I snapped, letting my accent stick out more than usual. "Go on, you're needed for traffic duty."

The guy snatched my paper, looking bewildered. "Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am." He quickly handed me the psychic paper, and dashed out the door, stumbling a bit on the way.

I slammed the door behind him, and turned to the trio. "What did you guys do this time?" I asked, with my hands on my hips, and dropping the facade. "Doctor, you're supposed to be _smart_. And Rose, you're supposed to keep him in check! And Jackie…" I shook my head, and patted her shoulder. "I'm actually not surprised."

"What was that you gave him?" the Doctor asked, standing up, and walking towards me. He looked menacing, which I wasn't used to.

I raised an eyebrow, and showed the psychic paper. "It was a birthday present," I chuckled. "Thanks, by the way, considering you won't hear me say that for a few years."

"You gave her psychic paper?" Rose asked. "Who is she?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Is this payback for when I first met you? Very funny, Rosie, really." I plopped down onto a chair, and sighed. "Jackie, can I have some tea? This stupid vortex manipulator zapped me here randomly, and the TARDIS is ignoring me."

"The TARDIS?" the Doctor asked, clenching his fists. "Why would she answer you in the first place? No one can understand her."

"So we're still early in the relationship, I take it," I chuckled. "Ah, that's alright."

Jackie still hadn't moved, and she looked furious. "You're with him, aren't you? I thought you were here to arrest him! He kidnapped my Rose!"

"Have we not yet met?" I asked, putting a hand on the blonde woman's shoulder. "Sorry, I tend to get ahead of myself. I'm Lily, Rose's best friend!"

"This is your best friend?" the Doctor asked, turning to Rose. "She seems a bit odd, doesn't she?"

"Don't look at me like that; I've never seen her in my life!"

I turned to them, shocked. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You," the Doctor stated, pointing a finger at me. "Who are you? How do you know about the TARDIS? How do you know about us?"

"Are you alright, Dear?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow. I stood up, and reached my hand out to him.

He grabbed my wrist, and glared. "Who. Are you?"

I looked into his eyes, and saw no recognition. He truly didn't know me, and I could tell the only reason I was alive currently was because he wanted answers.

My eyes watered, and I was reminded of when I first him, so long ago. I could remember the scared look in his eyes, and I realized what he had gone through – well, _will_ go through.

"You don't know me," I stated. My tears started to pool over, and I forced myself to look away, only for my gaze to fall on Rose. "Neither of you. None you guys know me."

"Should we?" Rose asked, her eyes softening.

Jackie stood there, looking torn between shouting and screaming.

I choked back a sob, and tried to yank my arm free from the Doctor. He didn't let me go, and I took a long sigh, trying to calm myself.

"You don't know me," I finally said, relaxing enough so that the Doctor wasn't hurting my wrist. "Not yet, anyway. I'm from your guys' future, and sometimes your past. Look, I know it doesn't make much sense, but it will. Someday." They didn't look convinced, and I rolled my eyes. Why would they believe me?

"What are you talking about?" the Doctor asked, and his grip tightened.

I hissed in pain, and glared. "Well, _Darling_ , maybe if you weren't trying to break my wrist, I'd tell you."

"Why do you keep doing that?" Rose asked. "You keep calling him names. Why are you doing that?"

I giggled. "Rosie, I have names for you too. We've got Flower Power." I winked, and while the Doctor was distracted by my antics, I yanked my wrist away from him. I plopped down on the chair again with a sigh. "Jackie… you don't know me, but please, can I have some tea?"

She seemed flustered, but by using my puppy dog eyes, she huffed, and disappeared into the kitchen.

I put my head in my hands, and fought back the tears.

"What's that?"

I looked in between my fingers to see the Doctor staring at my hand. I studied my left hand, seeing nothing out of the ordinary – my ring was still in place, and my nails were painted with a French tip. "What's what?" I asked.

"That ring. That's a Fire Diamond, from Gallifrey, my home planet – and the Ice Sapphires, those too." He took my hand, studying each and every jewel. "Where did you get this? The last time I saw this was years ago."

"They're from Gallifrey?" I asked, my eyes wide. "You idiot! Why would you give this to me? I thought it was just something you picked up from some planet!"

"Where did you get it?" he asked again, his gaze hardening.

"You gave it to me. On the day I first met you," he looked confused, and I chuckled. "Don't worry, it's not for another several years or so. At least I think…" I shook my head, smirking. "Oh well – as you say, wibbly wobbly, timey wimey."

Jackie came back with a red mug in her hand. "Blimey, that's a gem," she sighed. "You two married, is that it?"

The Doctor instantly dropped my hand, and my stomach dropped. Gratefully, I took the mug from Jackie and took a much needed sip.

"Of course not," he huffed. "I've never seen her before in my life. I've no idea who she is."

My eyes watered again, but I forced myself to remain calm. "Not married," I agreed, and sent a grin at Rose. "So what did you two do this time? The last time I saw the police involved with something, was-" I cut myself off, and grumbled. "Never mind," I sighed. "As my sister would say, _spoilers_."

"You've got a sister?" the Doctor asked. "Is she as annoying as you?"

"Oh, no, of course not." I batted my eyelashes. "She's _much_ worse."

Rose looked a bit terrified for a moment, and I giggled.

"So, are you going to answer me? What did you two do this time?"

"He took my Rose from me, like I said," Jackie answered. "She was missing for a year, she was!"

"A year?" I scoffed, and covered my mouth with my hands. "Jeez, I thought you knew how to fly her."

He glared, and didn't move from his spot in front of me. "Of course I know how to fly her. Better than you could ever think."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," I laughed.

The three continued to stare at me, Jackie in complete shock, and Rose and the Doctor looking at me like I was some alien that would lash out any second.

I sighed, and stood up, gently putting the mug of tea on a coaster. "Scan me," I ordered. "Go on, use the sonic screwdriver to scan me. I'm as human as Rose, and- wait. Scratch that." I rubbed my arm nervously. I've never been scanned before – how would I show up on the sonic? I was conceived in the vortex, and the Doctor said we were human plus Time Lord. "Okay, I actually have no idea how I'll show up."

"I have a question," Jackie spoke up, glaring. "If you're not a police officer, then why are you dressed like one?"

"Hmm?" I looked down at my attire and laughed. "Oh, this is A- my mothers. It's Halloween in my time, and my mum just has the best costumes." I paused, and smirked. "And my dad isn't too bad at dressing up either, I suppose." I shook my head. "Scan me."

Rose leaped up, and took Jackie's hand. "Mum, how about we talk in the kitchen?"

The Doctor waited for them to leave, then he faced me, and pulled his sonic from inside his pocket. The familiar buzzing reached my ears, and he waved it around me. He stared at the readings, and when he looked back up at me, he seemed terrified and amazed.

"You're part Time Lord," he stated. "How? That's not possible. You're impossible, you shouldn't be here."

"But I am," I smiled, stepping forward. "How is that possible, huh, Doctor?" I snickered at him, and collapsed back into the chair.

"Rose," the Doctor called. "We're going out."

"She just got home," I stated, scrunching my eyebrows. "You can't expect her to just walk out, she-"

"I'll go if I want to," Rose stated, walking in, and grabbing her jacket. "Mum, we'll be back soon, I promise."

"You just got back!" Jackie cried, holding a cuppa.

"I'll make sure they come back," I promised, smiling at her. "I'm his voice of reason. He doesn't make a move without talking to me first." I sent a smirk at the Doctor, and bounded out the door, into the cold air.

"Voice of reason?" Rose asked, following. "What are you talking about?"

"I can't say too much," I sighed, walking down the street. "If I give away too many spoilers, things happen. Like that time I-" I shut my mouth, blushing. "Never mind."

I climbed up a fire escape, and sat down on the ledge of a building. "You guys coming or what?" I called.

"I think you're a nutter," Rose stated, climbing up behind me.

I sat on the ledge of the building and grinned at her as she and the Doctor stood behind me. "You'll come to see that I am a complete nutter. I get it from him, though," I said, jabbing my thumb at the Time Lord. "I used to be normal – well, I thought I was normal. Then he showed up. Can't even go to school without asking for the date and time every other minute. One time, he brought me back five minutes early. I had to hide in the janitor's closet until past him came and picked up past me." I laughed at the Doctors confused face. "Expect a slap in a few years for that one."

"I'm confused," Rose sighed. "How do you know so much? Are you from the future?"

I chuckled, and turned back to face the city below.

"You are, aren't' you?" she pressed.

I shrugged, and took off my hat, letting my curls fall. "Here," I called, tossing the Doctor the hat. "Hold on to that for me. If I don't give it back to A- my mum, she'll kill me." I stood up, and stared at him seriously. "And she's terrifying. Trust me; you do not want to cross her. I mean, you will, but still. I warned you."

The Doctor growled, and shoved the hat back at me. "What's stopping me from pushing you off the building?" he asked lowly.

My eyes widened, before I laughed. "It's been a while since you threatened me. I forgot how scary you can be." I sighed, and stood up. "If you did push me off, you'd be really surprised the next time we meet. And I'm only part Time Lord. I wouldn't regenerate. At least, I don't think so. River ca- could."

"Time Lord?" Rose asked. "Like you?" She turned to the Doctor, and he nodded, still glaring at me.

"Anyway," I sighed, jumping up on the little ledge that Rose was sitting on. "A whole year, huh? Good thing I got there when I did. How did you ever survive without me?" I laughed to myself, as the Doctor crossed his arms. "So, what are you going to tell Jackie?"

Rose looked stunned for a bit, before shaking her head. "I can't tell her," she decided. "I can't even begin. She's never gonna forgive me. And I missed a year? Was it good?" She turned to the Doctor, who softened a bit.

"Middling," he shrugged.

"You're so useless," she muttered, and I chuckled as I plopped down next to her again.

"Oh, you have no idea," I teased, but dropped my smile at their stares.

"Well, if it's this much trouble, are you going to stay here now?" the Doctor asked, choosing to ignore me.

Rose sighed. "I don't know," she shrugged. "I can't do that to her again, though."

"You're not staying here, I can tell you that," I stated, crossing my legs. "And she's not coming. Jackie in the TARDIS." I shuddered. "Never again."

Rose laughed, and the Doctor shook his head. "Well, that just proves you don't know us," he nodded. "I don't do families."

"Yeah, okay," I snorted, thinking of my own family.

"She slapped you though," Rose chuckled.

"900 years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother," he sighed.

I grinned, and looked away, trying not to laugh.

"Your face," Rose continued.

"It hurt!" the Doctor defended. "Oi, what you laughing at?"

I looked up, held up my hands, shaking my head. "Nope, not saying a word."

Rose fiddled with her bracelets. "When you say 900 years…"

"That's my age," the Doctor nodded.

"You're 900 years old?" Rose asked.

"Yeah," he said.

Rose nodded. "My mum was right; that is one _hell_ of an age gap," she sighed, and stood up. "Every conversation with you just goes mental. There's no one else I can talk to. I've seen all that stuff up there, the size of it, and I can't say a word. Aliens, and spaceships, and things, and… I'm the only person on planet Earth who knows they exist."

"Well, not quite," I sighed. "I mean, I'm here, and there's-"

A giant horn blasted from behind us, and I whirled around to see a ship flying towards us. I ducked as it flew overhead, and we watched as it slammed into Big Ben, before landing in the Thames.

We stood up slowly, and I grinned.

"Oh, that's just not fair," Rose stated, and the Doctor turned around, laughing. He grabbed Roses hand, and started pulling, leaving me to chase after the duo.

It took a while to run through the city, only to be stopped by traffic and UNIT.

"It's blocked off," the Doctor stated.

"We're miles from the center," Rose pointed out, watching all the pissed off drivers. "The scene must be gridlocked. The whole of London must be closing down."

"I know," the Doctor gushed. "I can't believe I'm here to see this. This is fantastic!"

"Did you know this was going to happen?" I asked, standing on my tip toes to see over the people.

"Nope," the Doctor said, popping the 'p.'

"Do you recognize the ship?" Rose asked.

"Nope," the Doctor repeated.

"Do you know why it crashed?" I tried.

"Nope."

"Oh, I'm glad I got you," Rose huffed.

"I bet you are," he grinned. "This is what I travel for, Rose, to see history happening right in front of us."

"Well, let's go and see it," she said. "Never mind the traffic, we've got the TARDIS."

"Mm, better not – they've already got one spaceship in the middle of London. I don't want to shove another one on top," the Doctor explained.

"Yeah, but yours looks like a big blue box, no one's gonna notice." Rose looked at him confused, and I shook my head.

"You'd be surprised," I shrugged. "Something like this happens, there's no telling who's watching. Besides, these guys are serious, they won't hesitate to pick up a soda bottle for questioning."

"Exactly," the Doctor agreed, furrowing his eyebrows at me. "The TARDIS stays where it is."

"So, history's happening, and we're stuck here," Rose griped.

"Yep," I nodded.

"Well, you're dressed as a policewoman," Rose pointed out. "How 'bout you go and get us in?"

"No, UNIT won't let anyone but them and T- one of their other teams in," I explained. "Besides, if I get you guys in there this way, things could happen."

I was thinking of Jack and the rest of the Torchwood team, but couldn't even begin to explain it to them.

"We could always do what everybody else does," Rose decided, and the Doctor looked at her confused. "We could watch it on TV."

"Oh, that's a sight to see," I laughed, and we turned around to run back to Rose's apartment.

Once there, it took no time at all for a crowd to gather, and the Doctor looked like he wanted to strangle someone. It was hard to hear the television, so I decided to go outside for some fresh air, and check the missed call from the Doctor.

" _Um… hello_ ," a female voice said timidly. " _Um… I'm Christina, I guess… I uh-"_

" _Oh, give it here_ ," I heard, and recognized the tenth Doctor's voice. " _Lily, it's me… Hello?"_

" _It's a voicemail_ ," Christina said in the background, and I could almost picture the Doctor pouting.

" _Lily, what good does that do, if when I call you, you're unreachable?"_ he asked. " _Anyway, I'm sort of stuck on another planet without the TARDIS, so I need you to – oh, no, don't do that! – sorry, my little dish stopped working. Anyway, I – hold on… what's that?"_

The phone clicked, and I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Doctor, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" I whispered and started to hit the call back button, when someone cleared their throat behind me.

I jumped, and turned around, putting my hand to my chest as I sighed in relief. "Jeez, Doctor," I sighed. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just thought you'd like to know they found a body," he said, crossing his arms.

"Really?" I asked. "Cool. Did they show it? Did you recognize the species?"

He shook his head, and I sighed, nodding.

"Hopefully, it's nothing major," I said, fumbling with my phone.

 _You alright?_ I typed. _What's going on?_

"Who are you texting?" the Doctor asked, and I looked up sharply.

"No one," I rushed, before sighing. "I mean, it's just you. Well, future you. I hope, texting and calling always turns out weird."

He looked at me suspiciously, and I sighed, turning away.

"You know, I'm actually impressed," I told him. "Future you wouldn't care, you'd march right in, demanding a front seat. Even _you_ you are always the first to see everything. It's a wonder how you've lasted in there that long."

The Doctor leaned against the rail beside me, and shrugged. "Well, that's… I mean…"

"You didn't realize I had even left, did you?" I asked, looking at the ground.

The Doctor was silent, and I felt his eyes on me. "Who are you?" he asked.

"You sound a lot like you did when you met my sister for the first time," I chuckled, and ran my fingers along the vortex manipulator. "You'll like her. You say we're a lot alike. I don't see how, though." I sighed, and ran my hands down my face. I felt a tear run down my cheek, and I furiously wiped it away. "That's the future, though – many years from now." I forced a smile on my face, and looked at the sky.

"Their different, now," I told him, nodding at the stars. "Ever since you showed up, they've never looked the same. Every shooting star, I wonder if it's a dying ball of gas, or an alien spaceship flying too close to the atmosphere. You have that effect on people. Once you show up, you never go away. Literally." I laughed, and studied my nails, trying to avoid eye contact. "I Googled you the first time you showed up. Fifteen minutes later, you show up again, using that stupid sonic screwdriver of yours to break in.

"Doctor, I want to tell you who I am, really I do." I turned to face him, and saw a look of confusion. "But I can't. When I first met you, you said that it would all be explained, in time. My past, your future. I'm the girl who won't go away."

* * *

 **And that's all she wrote! Like I said, this story is up for adoption. If you choose to adopt it, you do not have to follow what I have written. These chapters are simply to give you inspiration, so you can do what you want with them.**

 **If you're interested, PM me!**


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